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Nephilm
Jun 11, 2009

by Lowtax

Mechafunkzilla posted:

The Salamanders are pretty righteous dudes.

They aren't a major faction. They're a small part of the armed forced of the Imperium... and don't even have their own codex.

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Mechafunkzilla
Sep 11, 2006

If you want a vision of the future...

Nephilm posted:

They aren't a major faction. They're a small part of the armed forced of the Imperium... and don't even have their own codex.

You're quite the literal person aren't you? Take it easy, man.

In any case, the Salamanders should have their own codex :colbert:

Gough Suppressant
Nov 14, 2008
Go play 3E War For Armageddon!

jadebullet
Mar 25, 2011


MY LIFE FOR YOU!

Nephilm posted:

None of the major factions are good; everyone's out to look for their continued survival first and foremost.

The Tau seem to be pretty cool guys. They would rather diplomacy than war, and would like to see everyone working together for the greater good.

Nephilm
Jun 11, 2009

by Lowtax

jadebullet posted:

The Tau seem to be pretty cool guys. They would rather diplomacy than war, and would like to see everyone working together for the greater good.

Here's how Tau diplomacy works:

*points gun* Dissolve your existing government structures and join our highly stratified caste-system empire, were you'll be third class citizens forever. *cocks gun* It's for the Greater Good (lit. "The Tau Way") of all.

They're only "pretty cool" in that they prefer subjugation over annihilation of other species, but even when fully integrated they're treated like untouchables by the Tau castes.

CommissarMega
Nov 18, 2008

THUNDERDOME LOSER
They're aliens- what other reason do you need?

Cotton Candidasis
Aug 28, 2008

Don't the Tau just sterilize other species when they decide they don't really want to be Greater GoodTM untouchables and then just wait until the last member has died off to move in on the planet?

Fried Chicken
Jan 9, 2011

Don't fry me, I'm no chicken!

tweekinator posted:

Don't the Tau just sterilize other species when they decide they don't really want to be Greater GoodTM untouchables and then just wait until the last member has died off to move in on the planet?

Not quite; they do the sterilization and slow genocide thing, but they will move on to the planet before the genocide is complete.

Polpoto
Oct 14, 2006

So just finished Priests of Mars and I have to say overall it was pretty good and a nice distraction from the usual bolter porn nonsense.

However, the book has one of the most abrupt endings ever. Worse than some of Abnett's endings. They spend the entire book talking about this anomaly and the expedition to it but when they finally pass through it, the book literally just ends. I enjoyed it up until I looked at my kindle and realized he wrapped up the entire book in the last 5%.

drkhrs2020
Jul 22, 2007

Nephilm posted:

Here's how Tau diplomacy works:

*points gun* Dissolve your existing government structures and join our highly stratified caste-system empire, were you'll be third class citizens forever. *cocks gun* It's for the Greater Good (lit. "The Tau Way") of all.

They're only "pretty cool" in that they prefer subjugation over annihilation of other species, but even when fully integrated they're treated like untouchables by the Tau castes.

I think the newer fluff has hinted at some much more grimdark stuff going on in the Tau empire wrt the Ethereals and their subjugation of other races. The one major Tau hero who broke away apparently discovered some awful secret about the ruling government.

Nephilm
Jun 11, 2009

by Lowtax
Well, it is heavily implied that the Ethereals have a form of mind control over the other castes through pheromones, which is a likely reason why Farsight broke off (he stayed away from Ethereal influence long enough that him and his forces wore it off). We also know from the Dawn of War: Dark Crusade game how they treat rebellious populations, and I've heard rumours that the Vespid are also being mind controlled through some means, but I don't recall where I heard that.

Arquinsiel
Jun 1, 2006

"There is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families. And no government can do anything except through people, and people must look to themselves first."

God Bless Margaret Thatcher
God Bless England
RIP My Iron Lady
It's the mask thing the vespid squad leaders wear, it's implied that it's a brain-control-device due to them magically understanding the Tau when they had it put on.

isoprenaline
Jun 4, 2005

And there, till Christ call forth the dead,
In silence let him lie:
No need to waste the foolish tear,
Or heave the windy sigh:
The man had killed the thing he loved,
And so he had to die.

Mechafunkzilla posted:

That's not the reveal, just a small plot twist. The reveal comes early on, it's that Omegon has betrayed Alpharius and is destroying the installation so that the Emperor will be able to summon the White Scars.

It is that really what was going on? I didn't get that at all from the story

Cotton Candidasis
Aug 28, 2008

Fried Chicken posted:

Not quite; they do the sterilization and slow genocide thing, but they will move on to the planet before the genocide is complete.

Well that's just rude.

Mechafunkzilla
Sep 11, 2006

If you want a vision of the future...

isoprenaline posted:

It is that really what was going on? I didn't get that at all from the story

I really don't get how people are missing that. Do they think it was just a story about Omegon having a bunch of Alpha Legionnaires killed and and hiding it from his brother with no ramifications for the Heresy? poo poo, he even lets Ranko drink his blood to show him the real reason why they're performing the mission. If the situation was like he had been claiming, that it was because there was a "leak" in the legion, there would have been no reason to do that.

lostleaf
Jul 12, 2009
black library allows US residents to purchase from them right? it keeps on saying my California address is invalid

jadebullet
Mar 25, 2011


MY LIFE FOR YOU!
Just look over the form. I had the same issue but it turned out I had something set wrong. I forget what it was though.

Baron Bifford
May 24, 2006
Probation
Can't post for 3 years!
Why can't humans or Orks access the Webway? Why do the Eldar have exclusive access?

Affi
Dec 18, 2005

Break bread wit the enemy

X GON GIVE IT TO YA
I started with Horus Heresy, I hope thats a good starting point. I've read Gaunts Ghosts before though.

Library didn't have Eisenhorn :(

EyeRChris
Mar 3, 2010

Intergalactic, all-planetary, everything super-supreme champion

Baron Bifford posted:

Why can't humans or Orks access the Webway? Why do the Eldar have exclusive access?

As for humans I think the Emp was close to this but Magnus inadvertantly destroyed it when he used his powers to try and warn him of the heresy which lead to Prospero burning.

Orks probably can't because its the one thing that can't be solved with more dakka.

Baron Bifford
May 24, 2006
Probation
Can't post for 3 years!
Yeah, I know of that, but why couldn't they access it like the Eldar do? Why did they need to build that gateway on Terra? Why can't humans access the existing gates the Old Ones built?

berzerkmonkey
Jul 23, 2003

Baron Bifford posted:

Yeah, I know of that, but why couldn't they access it like the Eldar do? Why did they need to build that gateway on Terra? Why can't humans access the existing gates the Old Ones built?

Because humans don't know where the "doors" are. On top of that, the Webway is like a labyrinth, and if you don't know the structure, you will get lost. Finally, much of the Webway is in disrepair, and many of the doors and tunnels have collapsed.

There is fluff regarding some Inquisitors having used the Webway, but for the most part, it's pretty much Eldar exclusive.

Baron Bifford
May 24, 2006
Probation
Can't post for 3 years!
Then the only obstacle is lack of information. All they need to do is torture or bribe some Eldar into giving up his maps.

Surely the Eldar must have taken additional measures to keep other races out of the Webway for the past 10,000 years.

The Necrons use the Webway now, apparently (didn't they use some sort of phase-technology before?).

Baron Bifford fucked around with this message at 13:26 on Jul 21, 2012

Lincoln`s Wax
May 1, 2000
My other, other car is a centipede filled with vaginas.
I'm hauling rear end through Legion of the Damned and it may very well be my favorite of the BL books I've read so far. It's not what I was expecting but what I'm getting is so much better, in my opinion. Kersh is shaping up to be one of my favorite marines.

After (relatively minor, but cool spoiler)having his scouts take out an entire throne room full of armed redemptionists in a fuckin' ecclesiarch palace, he tells a vomiting pontifex this:

quote:

"I hear enough of this God Emperor from my Librarian. The love of our Emperor? You think yourself worthy of that? You think you can earn his love through worthless words? Your hives and palaces of soulless devotion? Your veneration of an empty idea? I feel the love of my father as he felt the love of his. This flesh - these hearts - were made to feel. His blood courses through my veins. His loss lives on behind these eyes. He is more than a man, but he is not a god. It is your fear that casts him as such. You are weak and foolish, and in your billions need him to be more than he is. But you are wrong, mortal. He is more than man for not being some all-powerful deity. His deeds are his own and we aspire to his greatness - not appropriate it, mythologize it and worship it as a shield against a galaxy of petty doubt, dread and pain. For his love, I would do anything."

And the book is just full of this awesome poo poo. Like funkzilla said- the atmosphere in this book pours out like a fog. I also really like the description of the Legion. Previously, they've been kinda normal sounding except the the flames and bone decorations, the cover art (as seen here: http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=95046 ) and descriptions make them much better.

Mr.48
May 1, 2007

berzerkmonkey posted:

Because humans don't know where the "doors" are. On top of that, the Webway is like a labyrinth, and if you don't know the structure, you will get lost. Finally, much of the Webway is in disrepair, and many of the doors and tunnels have collapsed.

There is fluff regarding some Inquisitors having used the Webway, but for the most part, it's pretty much Eldar exclusive.

Doesnt Ravener and crew use something like a webway (in the shape of a magic door) to time travel at some point?

Nephilm
Jun 11, 2009

by Lowtax

Mr.48 posted:

Doesnt Ravener and crew use something like a webway (in the shape of a magic door) to time travel at some point?

What they used was entirely different.

Baron Bifford
May 24, 2006
Probation
Can't post for 3 years!
I get the impression that this hasn't been addressed in the fluff yet. I'm surprised, because it's a pretty important plot point.

Nephilm
Jun 11, 2009

by Lowtax

Baron Bifford posted:

I get the impression that this hasn't been addressed in the fluff yet. I'm surprised, because it's a pretty important plot point.

What, using the webway? I recall fluff bits about how Eldar close up or hide entrances that have been discovered, and deal with extreme prejudice any serious attempts to map them.

Webway entrances are also apparently completely undetectable (or close enough to make it practically so), meaning no way to find them if you don't know exactly where they are.

On torturing or bribing, the webway is so fundamental to the continuing survival of the Eldar species (both Craftworld and Dark Eldar), that it is a betrayal of the utmost caliber to reveal its routes. Craftworld eldar are also highly conditioned against torture by default (dark eldar being another can of worms), and presumably anyone with full maps would have psychic locks placed in to protect the information. Add to that Craftworld eldar being gudided by some of the most powerful prescients in the galaxy, who would be quick to take action against any threat to the secrecy of the webway...

There's a reason why the Emperor was so secretive about his work on the Golden Throne.

Baron Bifford
May 24, 2006
Probation
Can't post for 3 years!
So they're very serious about protecting information. It's still just a matter of information. 10,000 years is plenty of time for the Inquisition or the Mechanicum to crack the Eldar's veil of secrecy (then again, this is hardly the only absurdity in W40K, so maybe I'm nitpicky).

Maybe they could say that Webway gates are designed to only respond to Eldar commands. Maybe there's something about the Eldar mind or soul that humans simply cannot replicate. If a human psyker tried to open one he would fail because it just doesn't work for humans.

Cooked Auto
Aug 4, 2007

If you will not serve in combat, you will serve on the firing line!




One instance I can remember of the Webway being seen or used by a human was in Daemonifuge at one point where Stern travelled through alongside some Eldar she had just met.

OXBALLS DOT COM
Sep 11, 2005

by FactsAreUseless
Young Orc

Baron Bifford posted:

So they're very serious about protecting information. It's still just a matter of information. 10,000 years is plenty of time for the Inquisition or the Mechanicum to crack the Eldar's veil of secrecy (then again, this is hardly the only absurdity in W40K, so maybe I'm nitpicky).

Maybe they could say that Webway gates are designed to only respond to Eldar commands. Maybe there's something about the Eldar mind or soul that humans simply cannot replicate. If a human psyker tried to open one he would fail because it just doesn't work for humans.

Neither party even know that the webway exists, for the most part. The Emperor's final project is one of his deepest secrets, and basically nobody's ever heard of it except for maybe Magnus himself.

Mechafunkzilla
Sep 11, 2006

If you want a vision of the future...

Baron Bifford posted:

So they're very serious about protecting information. It's still just a matter of information. 10,000 years is plenty of time for the Inquisition or the Mechanicum to crack the Eldar's veil of secrecy (then again, this is hardly the only absurdity in W40K, so maybe I'm nitpicky).

Maybe they could say that Webway gates are designed to only respond to Eldar commands. Maybe there's something about the Eldar mind or soul that humans simply cannot replicate. If a human psyker tried to open one he would fail because it just doesn't work for humans.

Humans don't know it exists, lack the technology to enter it, wouldn't be able to navigate it, and would be hunted down and destroyed if they somehow made their way in. Plus, the entirety of the webway exists in between real space and the warp; it's not just a matter of finding a hidden door somewhere. Even the Emperor, the greatest scientist and psyker in the history of the galaxy, struggled to unlock its secrets. And it's not like the Eldar created the webway, it was an invention of the Old Ones. The Eldar are just the only ones with the technology, knowledge, and psychic ability to access it.

It's also fairly reasonable to assume that if the mechanicum was getting close to being able to reliably access the webway, that research would be be wiped out considering farseers can literally predict and alter the future.

Mechafunkzilla fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Jul 22, 2012

Lovely Joe Stalin
Jun 12, 2007

Our Lovely Wang
It's best to just assume that if anyone had gained enough knowledge of the webway to be even a vague threat to the security of it, their planet would have been hit by an extinction event sized asteroid. Or a Hive Fleet. Or Ork Waaah. Or their sun exploded.
The Eldar, for all their pointy-eared foppishness, do not gently caress around.

Remember, these are the guys (Biel-Tan in particular) who will murder everyone on a planet because they terraformed it a million years ago, and while they aren't using it now, and may never use it in the future, they did put their towel on the beach first.

Lovely Joe Stalin fucked around with this message at 00:29 on Jul 22, 2012

OXBALLS DOT COM
Sep 11, 2005

by FactsAreUseless
Young Orc
Every race gets a couple "I win" buttons in the fluff, and mastering the webway is one of them for the Imperium, I believe, since it would remove their dependence on the astronomican as well as the vagaries of warp travel. Which is why the Horus Heresy happened when it did.

The new retcon about the necrons also using the webway is dumb as poo poo, though. Seroiusly, screw you Mat Ward.

Kegslayer
Jul 23, 2007

Cooked Auto posted:

One instance I can remember of the Webway being seen or used by a human was in Daemonifuge at one point where Stern travelled through alongside some Eldar she had just met.

Wasn't Inquisitor Czevak was another human to have been escorted safely through the Webway and also visited the Black Library?

The old fluff seems to have implied that even if you could open the portals, you wouldn't know where to go and would just get lost but it did imply that other races could in theory travel the webway. I remember reading stories of portals being destroyed by the Eldar to stop Chaos forces accessing it.

jadebullet
Mar 25, 2011


MY LIFE FOR YOU!
I remember reading some old novel about an Inquisitor, a squat and an Imperial Fist who end up going into the webway for some reason. It was... odd though. I think the Fist ended turning into a Thousand Son for a bit until his dead battle brothers turned him back.

Lovely Joe Stalin
Jun 12, 2007

Our Lovely Wang

jadebullet posted:

I remember reading some old novel about an Inquisitor, a squat and an Imperial Fist who end up going into the webway for some reason. It was... odd though. I think the Fist ended turning into a Thousand Son for a bit until his dead battle brothers turned him back.

I want to say that you are wrong, but I can't really remember clearly, and the Inquisitor War trilogy was insane enough that it's plausible.

Deathwing, Space Marine, Inquisitor, Harlequin, and Chaos Child... That set of books was one hell of an introduction into the universe of 40k.

Kegslayer
Jul 23, 2007

jadebullet posted:

I remember reading some old novel about an Inquisitor, a squat and an Imperial Fist who end up going into the webway for some reason. It was... odd though. I think the Fist ended turning into a Thousand Son for a bit until his dead battle brothers turned him back.

I think that was the original Inquisitor series by Ian Watson during the 90s, not sure how much of that is still canon though.

Edit: Yeah it was the one with Jain Zar and the dancing dreadnought.

Kegslayer fucked around with this message at 05:56 on Jul 22, 2012

Baron Bifford
May 24, 2006
Probation
Can't post for 3 years!

Mechafunkzilla posted:

Humans don't know it exists, lack the technology to enter it, wouldn't be able to navigate it, and would be hunted down and destroyed if they somehow made their way in. Plus, the entirety of the webway exists in between real space and the warp; it's not just a matter of finding a hidden door somewhere. Even the Emperor, the greatest scientist and psyker in the history of the galaxy, struggled to unlock its secrets. And it's not like the Eldar created the webway, it was an invention of the Old Ones. The Eldar are just the only ones with the technology, knowledge, and psychic ability to access it.

It's also fairly reasonable to assume that if the mechanicum was getting close to being able to reliably access the webway, that research would be be wiped out considering farseers can literally predict and alter the future.

So how does the Imperium figure the Eldar move around? All they'd have to do is capture an Eldar outcast with a grudge against his people or who is so utterly selfish (every society has these types) that he would sell out his people in exchange for riches.

Baron Bifford fucked around with this message at 08:03 on Jul 22, 2012

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Olanphonia
Jul 27, 2006

I'm open to suggestions~

Baron Bifford posted:

So how does the Imperium figure the Eldar move around? All they'd have to do is capture an Eldar outcast with a grudge against his people or who is so utterly selfish (every society has these types) that he would sell out his people in exchange for riches.

Keep in mind that the Eldar think of humans the same way that we think of a particularly dumb gorilla. Even if one of them decided to cause the extinction of the Eldar by revealing the secret of the webway, it certainly wouldn't come to humanity to do so. It'd be like you deciding to reveal how space travel works to the gorillas down at the zoo. I also highly doubt that any one eldar has the knowledge of a significant portion of the webway, so they would only be able to reveal a path or two at best.

Beyond that, the Imperium as a whole has a rather dim view of xenos and their trickery. I'm pretty sure rather than try and understand how they move about, they mostly just file it under eldar witchery

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