Warhammer: After 18 years, finally an end

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NihilCredo: Jun 6, 2011; iram omni possibili modo preme:
plus una illa te diffamabit, quam multæ virtutes commendabunt

Renner is a decent character, but one thing that really bothers me is when, at the end of Pariah, we learn that his "crime" was actually a cartoonishly noble and heroic act to the point of parody, something like saving a little girl from cruel Ecclesiarchs who wanted to burn her alive. Way to pull your punches, Abnett. It would have been more plausible and interesting if he'd been guilty of something seriously heretical or in any case something Bequin was deeply uncomfortable with. She befriends the entirely unrepentant Cherubael in the next book, it would have been a nice step for her to have to come to terms with caring for a not-quite-yet-redeemed criminal.

# ? Apr 5, 2021 18:27

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 21:41

Plucky Brit: Nov 7, 2009; Swing low, sweet chariot

A quick change to Renner's backstory:

He sheltered a girl who developed psychic powers, who then went on to become possessed and killed hundreds. Even better if he shielded her from the Inquisition rather than the Ecclesiarchy, who in most cases become the out-and-out bad guys.

# ? Apr 5, 2021 18:36

Grammarchist: Jan 28, 2013

I had Xavier Renegade Angel on as background noise while reading Penitent and I have just the weirdest mental image of what a certain character was up to in Queen Mab when he's not hanging out with the main characters.

# ? Apr 5, 2021 23:15

Count Thrashula: Jun 1, 2003; Death is nothing compared to vindication.; Buglord

Are there any AoS works that deal with the Cities of Sigmar? The Empire was my favorite part of Fantasy and I want to read more mortal stuff

# ? Apr 5, 2021 23:27

Paddyo: Aug 3, 2007

No. 1 Juicy Boi posted:

Are there any AoS works that deal with the Cities of Sigmar? The Empire was my favorite part of Fantasy and I want to read more mortal stuff

Seriously - someone way back was mentioning a story where ordinary people were suiciding into enemy lines with the expectation that Sigmar would beam them up to become Stormcasts, only to have them get slaughtered by whatever they were fighting and feeling abandoned by their god. Sounded cool and grimdark AF.

I've heard some good things about the Warhammer Crime / Horror books for AOS, but haven't personally read any yet.

# ? Apr 6, 2021 00:47

Biplane: Jul 18, 2005

I enjoyed Hamilcar quite a lot, and the weirdness of the AoS setting is something I would like to explore more.

# ? Apr 6, 2021 01:35

Brendan Rodgers: Jun 11, 2014

What do ordinary people do in AoS? Do they farm in the plane of carbohydrates?

Brendan Rodgers fucked around with this message at 01:49 on Apr 6, 2021

# ? Apr 6, 2021 01:44

MonsterEnvy: Feb 4, 2012; Shocked I tell you

Brendan Rodgers posted:

What do ordinary people do in AoS? Do they farm in the plane of carbohydrates?

Well the Realm of Fire despite the name, is not on fire, unless you go to the weird areas closer to the edge. There are even cold and frozen areas. (The natives of Aqshy describe said places as burning cold rather then hot.)

But for the most part the area's are just dry or hot. And things will grow strong there if they can get enough moisture.

So yeah there are Farms.

# ? Apr 6, 2021 02:38

MonsterEnvy: Feb 4, 2012; Shocked I tell you

Paddyo posted:

Seriously - someone way back was mentioning a story where ordinary people were suiciding into enemy lines with the expectation that Sigmar would beam them up to become Stormcasts, only to have them get slaughtered by whatever they were fighting and feeling abandoned by their god. Sounded cool and grimdark AF.

I've heard some good things about the Warhammer Crime / Horror books for AOS, but haven't personally read any yet.

That was Shadespire. The main character is talking about the foolishness of the Crusades a ton of people were going on to impress Sigmar. Stating that he heard that a bunch of people would charge into an enemy in hopes of becoming a Stormcas, only for them all to get wiped out, and he has never heard of anyone who went on these Crusades actually becoming one. (This is basically because Sigmar hardly does Stormcast recruitment anymore. He simply does not have the time or attention for it now.)

No. 1 Juicy Boi posted:

Are there any AoS works that deal with the Cities of Sigmar? The Empire was my favorite part of Fantasy and I want to read more mortal stuff

City of Secrets, Hamerhal and Other Stories are some good ones. There are others that take place in cities but they are more the backdrops.

# ? Apr 6, 2021 02:46

MonsterEnvy: Feb 4, 2012; Shocked I tell you

For fun here is a little short story from AoS.

ZENST�S DECREE OF ORDINANCES posted:

Jedd opened his eyes blearily, then screwed them tight against the dawn light.

�Where�s the �cursed curt�ns?� he mumbled to himself, then groaned as he remembered he�d taken them down. According to the Zenst Decree, blocking out the light of the Heavens with cloth drapery was akin to wrapping yourself in a shroud. It was a sure way to attract the unquiet dead. Jedd had no desire to ignore the wisdom of a famed witch hunter, so down the curtains had come.

He supposed that Heirom Zenst had a point; Sigmar�s light had woken Jedd at the appointed hour to be about his watch. He should really be thankful.

That said, Zenst�s Decree guaranteed to keep a man safe from the dead only if its every commandment was followed to the letter, and it had a great many of those. Jedd fumbled on his nightstand for his parchment copy. Sitting up, he blinked owlishly as he read again its stringent guidelines.

�Sigmar, ward away ghasts,� said Jedd. �Sigmar, drive off ghouls. Sigmar, preserve my soul and shield my body �gainst the dead.� He repeated the formula six times, then dipped his fingers in the flagon of water next to his bed and flicked droplets around himself, at each of the twelve stellar alignments.

Jedd hauled himself out of bed and got ready, all the while taking pains to follow Zenst�s commandments. He hung twelve weighty talismans about his neck, having to stop and remove them then start again when he realised he had donned the Hammer of Righteous Heart before the Eye of Soul�s Warding. He put on his clothes right-side first, right sock, right boot, right glove, all the while muttering the prayer against the sinister sins. He looked wistfully at the salted meat sitting untouched in his larder, instead making a breakfast of tubers, roots and shriveled fruit.

�Hardly a meal to keep m�strength up,� he muttered. The eating of dead flesh was forbidden by the Decree, for it invited grave thoughts, but Jedd hadn�t yet been able to bring himself to throw his hard-won store away.

He donned his Freeguild armour, each element of which he laboriously rubbed with blessed wax, bought at extortionate cost from the village alchemancer. The substance was slippery and irritating, and Jedd found it made his sword harder to grip � but again, only a fool would ignore Zenst�s warnings. His grumbling continued as he fished blessed parchments out of the lockbox he stored them in, and spent long minutes affixing them to his gear.

�Wish I�d got m�letters,� huffed Jedd, unable to decipher the illuminated scrawl that covered the parchments. He just had to trust that the scrolls said what the local priest had told him they did, and were worth the coin he had forked over for the privilege of wearing them.

At last, he hastened out of his house. As he locked the door � remembering to knock thrice on the jamb � Jedd noted that his wreath of hagsblight was wilting.

�Bloody sun,� he grumbled. �S�pose I�ll have to go a�foraging for more now.� It was not a heartening notion, for the jungle around the village was grot-haunted and dangerous. Still, better to risk the greenskins than let a ghast creep into his home.

Jedd hurried through the streets, keeping his eyes forward and his face stern. Zenst warned against needless fraternisation, in case ghast-possession or spiritual gloom be spread. Jedd felt this was a shame, for his neighbours were good people, and since the Decree the village had become colder, more suspicious and unfriendly. But then, who wanted to risk possession?

�You�re late. Again,� said Dunsley as Jedd hurried up the steps onto the rampart.

�Came as quick as I could,� said Jedd. �Decree, in�t it? Takes time.�

Dunsley scowled.

�Make the bloody time, Jedd. I�ve got a wife and babe. With all these signs and omens, the dead stirring behind the veil� We all got people we need to protect.�

Jedd sighed and nodded, thinking that his efficacy as a watchman would hardly be improved by even less sleep.

�Sorry, lad,� he said. �You get back to �em now. Blessings to Rosa from me.�

Dunsley grunted, somewhat mollified. He looked exhausted, Jedd thought. Everyone did.

�Wish we didn�t have to go through all this,� said Jedd, as Dunsley descended the stairs. �Makes everything harder.�

�Careful with that talk, Jedd,� Dunsley called back over his shoulder. �Old Bones�ll hear.�

Jedd shuddered, suddenly cold despite the morning sun.

He set off along the wall, patrolling widdershins as per the Decree. The jungle spread away beneath a cobalt-blue sky, teyr-hawks winging high above the canopy as the sun beat down. Animal cries echoed from the deeper reaches, while the treeline � which pressed up to within fifty yards of the walls in places � squirmed with animal and insect movements.

It was an hour into Jedd�s shift when one of those movements caught his tired eye. Blinking, he leaned a little way over the rampart, muttering a curse as the charms he wore spilled out of his tunic and dangled heavily over the edge.

Jedd gasped as he saw beady red eyes staring back at him, then heard the twang of a bowstring. Too late, Jedd tried to push himself back into cover, but his wax-rubbed gauntlet slipped on the stonework and the arrow thumped through his throat. He convulsed, then toppled over the battlements.

Pain exploded through Jedd as he heard the crunch of his bones breaking. His blood pumped from his throat. He couldn�t breathe. The last thing Jedd saw was a pair of grots slinking towards him, eyes fixed upon the charms tangled about his neck. They grabbed his body and began to haul, dragging him away towards the jungle fringe�

Later that day, the village priest stopped before Jedd�s door. He shook his head at the sorry wreath of hagsblight hanging there, then pressed a parchment against the frame and hammered it into place with a nail. As the priest walked away, the parchment fluttered in a cold breeze, its warning clear to all.

Here dwelt one who was heard to speak ill of the Decree by his comrade upon the walls.

Old Bones took him for his sins, vanished from the ramparts without trace.

�Ware the dead, faithful folk.

Obey the Decree.

Praise Sigmar.

MonsterEnvy fucked around with this message at 02:56 on Apr 6, 2021

# ? Apr 6, 2021 02:50

Count Thrashula: Jun 1, 2003; Death is nothing compared to vindication.; Buglord

Lords of Silence is a lot of fun so far. It really straddles the line between humanizing the Death Guard and showing how terrifying they are. Like, I guess humans just vomit themselves to death uncontrollably around them? loving wild

# ? Apr 6, 2021 08:34

MariusLecter: Sep 5, 2009; NI MUERTE NI MIEDO

No. 1 Juicy Boi posted:

Lords of Silence is a lot of fun so far. It really straddles the line between humanizing the Death Guard and showing how terrifying they are. Like, I guess humans just vomit themselves to death uncontrollably around them? loving wild

If you're REALLY lucky you don't die... EVER... and you vomit for eternity.

Blessed be Nurgle.

# ? Apr 6, 2021 10:40

Dog_Meat: May 19, 2013

No. 1 Juicy Boi posted:

Lords of Silence is a lot of fun so far. It really straddles the line between humanizing the Death Guard and showing how terrifying they are. Like, I guess humans just vomit themselves to death uncontrollably around them? loving wild

Fantastic book, but the biggest achievement is actually nailing why anyone would choose the patronage of Nurgle. I always wondered "why would I take boils and puss over being a skull harvesting warrior, a perpetually orgasmic cenobite with a chainsaw or a galactic space wizard?" and it turns out the answer is "because you get to chill out, stop worrying about the little things and you get pets"

# ? Apr 6, 2021 13:47

Count Thrashula: Jun 1, 2003; Death is nothing compared to vindication.; Buglord

Dog_Meat posted:

Fantastic book, but the biggest achievement is actually nailing why anyone would choose the patronage of Nurgle. I always wondered "why would I take boils and puss over being a skull harvesting warrior, a perpetually orgasmic cenobite with a chainsaw or a galactic space wizard?" and it turns out the answer is "because you get to chill out, stop worrying about the little things and you get pets"

I want a Little Lord so bad :cry:

# ? Apr 6, 2021 14:09

D-Pad: Jun 28, 2006

The Little Lords in LoS are one of my favorite things in all of warhammer fiction. Nurgle followers are legit trying to do good things in the galaxy as they see it.

# ? Apr 6, 2021 14:46

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

MonsterEnvy posted:

For fun here is a little short story from AoS.

How is he reading and then not able to read?

# ? Apr 6, 2021 15:58

MonsterEnvy: Feb 4, 2012; Shocked I tell you

Arquinsiel posted:

How is he reading and then not able to read?

It's illuminated. Presumably like some people can't read cursive (Me for example) he just can't make it out properly.

MonsterEnvy fucked around with this message at 20:20 on Apr 6, 2021

# ? Apr 6, 2021 20:17

MonsterEnvy: Feb 4, 2012; Shocked I tell you

For anyone interested this forum saved all the Malign Portents Short Stories that are no longer available on their site.

https://www.tga.community/forums/topic/27094-malign-portents-the-compiled-stories/

# ? Apr 6, 2021 20:25

Inspector_666: Oct 7, 2003; _{benny with the good hair}

Dog_Meat posted:

Fantastic book, but the biggest achievement is actually nailing why anyone would choose the patronage of Nurgle. I always wondered "why would I take boils and puss over being a skull harvesting warrior, a perpetually orgasmic cenobite with a chainsaw or a galactic space wizard?" and it turns out the answer is "because you get to chill out, stop worrying about the little things and you get pets"

Yeah, Nurgle seems like the most extortionate when it comes to getting followers but then by far the best one to serve once you've bought in.

# ? Apr 6, 2021 21:40

Paddyo: Aug 3, 2007

Plus their commitment to see life grow and flourish. I mean, it might not be life in its most pleasant forms, but that's just a matter of perspective.

# ? Apr 6, 2021 22:24

Biplane: Jul 18, 2005

MonsterEnvy posted:

For anyone interested this forum saved all the Malign Portents Short Stories that are no longer available on their site.

https://www.tga.community/forums/topic/27094-malign-portents-the-compiled-stories/

These are really dope

# ? Apr 6, 2021 22:30

MonsterEnvy: Feb 4, 2012; Shocked I tell you

Inspector_666 posted:

Yeah, Nurgle seems like the most extortionate when it comes to getting followers but then by far the best one to serve once you've bought in.

It's noted that he can never actually stay mad at his followers that fail him, so he frequently revives them.

# ? Apr 7, 2021 00:27

Telsa Cola: Aug 19, 2011; No... this is all wrong... this whole operation has just gone completely sidewaysface

Isnt Typhon a huge piece of poo poo though? Like I remember him being the guy a lotta people hated even before they turned.

# ? Apr 7, 2021 00:32

DAD LOST MY IPOD: Feb 3, 2012; Fats Dominar is on the case

Typhus is a dick, he�s also half Chaos-alien-warlord so maybe it�s genetic

# ? Apr 7, 2021 00:36

MonsterEnvy: Feb 4, 2012; Shocked I tell you

Telsa Cola posted:

Isnt Typhon a huge piece of poo poo though? Like I remember him being the guy a lotta people hated even before they turned.

Nurgle's followers can be dicks. But Nurgle himself is fairly friendly to his followers.

# ? Apr 7, 2021 00:38

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

MonsterEnvy posted:

It's illuminated. Presumably like some people can't read cursive (Me for example) he just can't make it out properly.

That in no way answers the question so I will assume "magic".

# ? Apr 7, 2021 00:47

MonsterEnvy: Feb 4, 2012; Shocked I tell you

Arquinsiel posted:

That in no way answers the question so I will assume "magic".

He can read the document the degree is on.

But the blessed parchments are written in a way he can't decipher, so he can't figure out what they actually say.

Biplane posted:

These are really dope

Agreed they were a fun bunch of short stories for the World Building.

# ? Apr 7, 2021 01:04

Khizan: Jul 30, 2013

My guess is that the blessed parchments are in the AoS equivalent of liturgical Latin, while the decree is in a more commonplace language.

# ? Apr 7, 2021 01:27

Telsa Cola: Aug 19, 2011; No... this is all wrong... this whole operation has just gone completely sidewaysface

Khizan posted:

My guess is that the blessed parchments are in the AoS equivalent of liturgical Latin, while the decree is in a more commonplace language.

Yeah but saying "Wish I got my letters" seems like he actually doesn't know how to read.

Like that's a very common way/phrase that gets used in a lot of media to state a character is illiterate.

# ? Apr 7, 2021 01:31

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

Telsa Cola posted:

Yeah but saying "Wish I got my letters" seems like he actually doesn't know how to read.

Like that's a very common way/phrase that gets used in a lot of media to state a character is illiterate.

Exactly this. It usually means that the character is at "signs with an X" level literacy.

# ? Apr 7, 2021 02:56

von Metternich: May 7, 2007; Why the hell not?

DAD LOST MY IPOD posted:

Typhus is a dick, he�s also half Chaos-alien-warlord so maybe it�s genetic

Is Typhon actually a space marine? Or is he like Luther and Kor Phaeron? He was old enough to be a rebel leader when Morty first meets him, and then I think the rebellion drags on for a couple of years...I guess maybe he could be 16 at the youngest and was just really lucky?

# ? Apr 7, 2021 08:49

DAD LOST MY IPOD: Feb 3, 2012; Fats Dominar is on the case

von Metternich posted:

Is Typhon actually a space marine? Or is he like Luther and Kor Phaeron? He was old enough to be a rebel leader when Morty first meets him, and then I think the rebellion drags on for a couple of years...I guess maybe he could be 16 at the youngest and was just really lucky?

Typhon being anything other than a normal space marine is a retcon, whereas Luther and Kor Phaeron were always fauxmarines, so the answer is �they didn�t think about that.�

# ? Apr 7, 2021 13:14

D-Pad: Jun 28, 2006

He's a space marine. Older people can become space marines, it's just that the failure rate is very high. Remember Russ's crew were all much older but went for it anyway and most didn't make it.

# ? Apr 7, 2021 15:42

Abyss: Oct 29, 2011

Recently, I've finished No Good Men and Flesh and Steel Warhammer Crime novels and really enjoyed the perspective and storytelling of a world that is focused on itself rather than the grand scope of the galaxy. I'm about half way through Bloodlines and will be sad to see the stories end for now, as I dive back into my multi-year long journey to get through the Horus Heresy.

# ? Apr 7, 2021 18:05

Improbable Lobster: Jan 6, 2012; What is the Matrix 🌐? We just don't know 😎.; Buglord

Arquinsiel posted:

Exactly this. It usually means that the character is at "signs with an X" level literacy.

Yeah, it's not the best choice of phrase there

# ? Apr 7, 2021 20:18

Zasze: Apr 29, 2009

Pyrolocutus posted:

There's a working theory that Space Sharks are actually hybrid Raven Guard / Night Lords.

The closest current canon backed theory is they were black shields in the heresy and used whatever geneseed was on hand and don�t have a single origin.

3rd company is strongly implied to have some world eater geneseed multiple times in the mcniven books.

In the 6th hh black book the ashen claws steal the nostromo geneseed vault the night lords were trying to rebuild the legion with post terra and it�s implied the sharks got some as they operate pretty closely with the ashen claws weird little pirate empire.

And the inquisition nabs a dead one in the badab war and it was of raven guard stock.

# ? Apr 7, 2021 20:46

Telsa Cola: Aug 19, 2011; No... this is all wrong... this whole operation has just gone completely sidewaysface

The Space sharks splintering off the exiled Crusade fleet and doing their own thing would also explain why they get along with the ashen claws

# ? Apr 7, 2021 20:58

Paddyo: Aug 3, 2007

Finished Luther the other day and it seems to be fully in line with the third path scenario that a lot of the recent books have been alluding to. Luther seems like a cool guy, and I'm excited to see how his story develops.

# ? Apr 7, 2021 23:10

Brendan Rodgers: Jun 11, 2014

Paddyo posted:

Finished Luther the other day and it seems to be fully in line with the third path scenario that a lot of the recent books have been alluding to. Luther seems like a cool guy, and I'm excited to see how his story develops.

I hate the Dark Angels. Could you post some more spoilers about it? Doubt I'll get to it, my to read list is infinite.

# ? Apr 7, 2021 23:21

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# ? Apr 19, 2024 21:41

Paddyo: Aug 3, 2007

I don't like them either, but I kind of dig the angle that this takes on the Fallen.

Luther spoilers

- It picks up right after Luther's duel with the Lion. Luther is adamant that he didn't kill the Lion, and regrets his actions.
- It follows him over 10,000 years as he is kept in a stasis cell by the Watchers in the Dark and interrogated by various Grand Masters.
- He responds to their questioning by sharing metaphorical and allegorical stories of his life on Caliban prior to the arrival of the Lion.
- It's clear that while he used the warp for his own ends and it ultimately hosed him over, he was never in league with Chaos and recognizes it for what it is.
- His goal was always just independence for Caliban, and he thinks the chaotic influence was an important part of their culture.
- He's disgusted with the current state of the Dark Angels, the Imperium, and the Ecclesiarchy.
- Book ends with him suddenly remembering a dream from his childhood where the Watchers in the Dark show him a secret part of the Rock (which is also the castle that he grew up in).
- He wakes up to the sounds of combat, and the door to his cell is open.

# ? Apr 8, 2021 00:25

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