Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Delephont wrote:If the Emperors beam died, all talk of endless battle would be irrelevant, if you can't travel, you can't bring war to the various collected foes!

Essentially, unless the Ad-Mech devised a replacement "beacon" for the warp...then it would be game over......for the setting, and for WH40K

Thank you Captain Reiterating what has already been said

Real-space travel would still be possible, just takes a hell of a long time

Your enemies will still be able to find you, therefore battles still takes place

I have not mentioned endless battles at any point - did you actually read any of the previous posts?

Also, if you are a fluff-monkey and cannot bear to read any fluff that isn't GW stamped, then Battle for the Abyss and Flight of The Eisenstein have several examples of Warp-Travel minus the Astronomicon plus Rogue traders do it all the time

This is simply an exercise in what I think would be cool in the 40K future ( I am at no point saying "This will happen, because I know everything about the fluff, and there is no way it can be different, because everything is set in stone NYAAAR!". If you don't like it, you don't even need to acknowledge it exists ^^ thankee!

You can still use the warp without the astronomican, but you can only do very short calculated jumps of only a few light years at a time, sort of like the tau.

Wow. Just wow.

Simply superb!

Wow, this is sweet. You should add something about many stars going out as the Necrons begin an invasion


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh wait, nevermind

Dark Lord Seanron wrote:

Delephont wrote:If the Emperors beam died, all talk of endless battle would be irrelevant, if you can't travel, you can't bring war to the various collected foes!

Essentially, unless the Ad-Mech devised a replacement "beacon" for the warp...then it would be game over......for the setting, and for WH40K

Thank you Captain Reiterating what has already been said

Real-space travel would still be possible, just takes a hell of a long time

Your enemies will still be able to find you, therefore battles still takes place

I have not mentioned endless battles at any point - did you actually read any of the previous posts?

Also, if you are a fluff-monkey and cannot bear to read any fluff that isn't GW stamped, then Battle for the Abyss and Flight of The Eisenstein have several examples of Warp-Travel minus the Astronomicon plus Rogue traders do it all the time

This is simply an exercise in what I think would be cool in the 40K future ( I am at no point saying "This will happen, because I know everything about the fluff, and there is no way it can be different, because everything is set in stone NYAAAR!". If you don't like it, you don't even need to acknowledge it exists ^^ thankee!

Apologies for repeating the point! You're right, I didn't read the whole thread!

OMFG!!!!!!!!
This the coolest thread (not posted by me, of course) that i've ever seen!

A lot of mysterious figures wandering around though, it must be said...


And what race were the DE prisoners right at the beginning? Don't know much about DE, to be honest...

WOW just WOW this fluff = FTW
i like the human race is getting by without the emperor but give another force more anttion like the greenskins since the beast is gone tons of orks wold try to take charge also whats happen to the sqauts and nids though your writing is surmpe (i need your brain for my english resit plaese)
but could you plaese tie up loses ends

@It: The legend of the primarch Khan tells how leapt after some fleeing DE warriors through a webway portal to hunt them down. But most of his force was cut off by the closing portal before they could get through.

I assume the he and some White Scars (after being a royal pain) were captured and had all sorts of nastiness done to them.

Emperors Faithful wrote:@It: The legend of the primarch Khan tells how leapt after some fleeing DE warriors through a webway portal to hunt them down. But most of his force was cut off by the closing portal before they could get through.

I assume the he and some White Scars (after being a royal pain) were captured and had all sorts of nastiness done to them.

Ah. Thanks there.

Further to the Galactic East:

• The Imperial Fists have carved a niche for themselves in the new Demiurg Nation. The Demiurg have saved several dozen planets from encroaching daemon infestation, and the Nation itself is the largest it has been since the Tyranic Wars.


• However, the Demiurg are ill-equipped for lightning fast, elite raids and thus The Fists have finally found their place in this supposed new order. The Demiurg are in their own element when it comes to Ordnance, Armour and Starship conflict, however when a lightning strike is need at a key position, then the Demiurg unleash the Fists.


• Despite having found their place in this new human bastion, the Fists do not revel their position. Although the Demiurg are for all intents and purposes kinsmen, the Fists feel that they and other ‘true humans’ have been relegated. They however do not wish to risk the survival of the human contingents, and so abide to the law of the Demiurg Nation.


• However, this changes abruptly when the Nation is assaulted by Hive Fleet Golgotha. The Hive Fleet tears into the newly enlarged Demiurg Nation and sets course for three border worlds that have just recently been claimed by the Nation. The Imperial Fists are all set to launch a counter-offensive, but are dissuaded by the Elder Council, who says they will deal with the threat.


• As Golgotha is approaching the Border Worlds, a small fleet of Demiurg Vessels place themselves between the planets and the Bio-fleet. Massive Cargo Bays open in the belly of each ship and a huge cloud of twinkling silver pours from each.


• The separate clouds form into one vast metallic mass and begin swirling toward the Tyranid Bio-fleet.


• The lead Bio ship is engulfed by the cloud and its effects are immediate. The vast organism begins to come apart and liquefy. Its innards are spilled to the void, and several thousand vanguard organisms perish with it. The silver cloud seems to swell and starts to branch off toward the rest of the bio fleet.


• The Tyranid Fleet vainly tries to fend the cloud off, but everything it touches is rendered down to biological gruel within minutes. Several of the rearward vessels try to pull away and leave the system but are pounced upon by tendrils of the now massive cloud. Soon nothing is left of Golgotha but frozen flotsam drifting in the void.
• The cloud now sits inert where the fleet once was, a full 5 times its original mass. The commanders of the Imperial contingent are shocked at how easily the Great Devourer was fended off. When pushed on the matter, the Demiurg Elder Council reveal that the cloud is made of semi-biological nanobots, that are capable of evolving and making decisions based on their environment, and are able to break down biological and technological components in order to improve and reproduce. The Demiurg developed them along with rogue Tau scientist in order to fend of another Tyranid Invasion.


• When the Imperials enquire into how the Demiurg control the Nanobots, the Elder Council state that they don’t, the Nanobots think for themselves and have been given the choice to be allies with the Demiurg. The Demiurg nation and the Nanobots are allies.


• The Imperials are aghast, for the Demiurg have committed a cardinal sin in the eyes of the old Imperium: creation of artificial intelligence.

OMG

Oooooh...
*round of appluase*

Emperors Faithful wrote:Oooooh...
*round of appluase*

I know. That was an amazing OMG

You do NOT MAKE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN A GRIMDARK SETTING. IT WILL EAT YOU.

still loving this thread

cant get over the loss of iyaden though :(
i'm hoping for some particularly interesting comeback from eldar!

all the BA stuff is frickin sweet too.

keep up the good work my friend

Gorechild wrote:cant get over the loss of iyaden though :(

Me, either. The fact that IF are working for squats kind of cheered me up a bit. But then I saw this AI business and . . . :shakes head:

Great stuff, dang something tells me tho that these "inferior" nanobots are going to turn on the human race seeing how they can just about kill anything, yikes!! cant wait till the next bit

“You are wrong!”

The Council Chamber fell silent. All eyes fixed on the tall broad figure standing at the lectern at the centre of the room, several quiet sighs and whispers of sedition flitted from person to person. The giant would not be cowed by the assembly’s displeasure and continued.

“I freely admit that I am no child of ethics, I am no philosopher or iterator. I do not attempt to emulate or mix with the high-minded or great thinkers of this age. I am a weapon, pure and simple: point me at my enemy and I will slay him without recourse to mercy. However, I do know when something is simply wrong, and you my friends are the worst kind of wrong…”

There was another hushed silence from the gathered faces. Captain Matthias looked from face to face, anger set in his cold, grey eyes. He was not adorned in his battle plate, but still stood tall and threatening, like some ancient mountain given life. He wore simple black fatigues and dull, brown robes but these simply served to accentuate his powerful physique. He had chosen to come in simple garb as a gesture of conversation, a sign of peace and debate, but that had all fallen apart once he had brought his point to the floor.

The floor in question was that of the Elder Council of the Demiurg Nation. The vast cube-shaped room was situated aboard the Demiurg vessel The Hammer of Ancestry, and served as the Nations home of government. Matthias stood at the Stone Lectern, a place where the various members’ views could be heard and where questions could be asked and answered; in any other situation it would seem quite comical for Matthias to stand at the Lectern. Matthias was Astartes, and dwarfed mortal men. For all intents and purposes he was a giant, a colossus wrought in flesh, designed to fight war flawlessly and to strike fear into the hearts of mankind’s enemies. The Lectern had not been made for Astartes, or even for mortal men. It had been made for the Demiurg, and only reached up to Matthias’ waist. The difference in size between the Demiurg and the Imperials had at first made his brother Astartes laugh, but the laughter had gone coldly silent when the Demiurg took charge.

The Demiurg were related to mankind that much was very clear. Both species shared a humanoid physiology; both had the same facial features and necessary bodily functions. They both even shared common languages and customs. Where they differed was in height: the Demiurg were vastly shorter than their human kinsmen, barely reaching the chest of an average human male. However, their apparent lack of vertical growth was countered by an intense broadening and hardening: The Demiurg were vastly stronger and tougher than normal men, their physical traits having evolved over centuries spent deep space mining. The application of intense low gravity, coupled with centuries of isolation had led to the development of the Demiurg.

Back in those days, after the Great Crusade and the Great Heresy, the Demiurg had been referred to by the Imperium of Man as Stunties, Dwarves, Squats. These names were all highly derogatory, but the Demiurg took such things in their stride, happy with finally being reunited with their brothers and sisters from beyond the stars. They had suffered horribly at the hands of the vile Greenskins and the treacherous Eldar, so to finally have trustworthy allies in a cold, uncaring universe was a great boon. The Imperium and Demiurg traded technology and supplies, and for a time things were good. Many times the High Lords of Terra pushed the Demiurg for what they called ‘total compliance’ but the Demiurg always resisted: no species should ever be put under the thrall or control of another, it was fundamentally wrong. This uneasy truce lasted decades, until the arrival of the Great Devourer.

Every Demiurg remembered those days. Every Demiurg who had not yet been born had been told in detail of those days. The Demiurg kept tales of those days to warn generations to come. A Tendril of the Great Devourer (designated “Jervis” by Imperial Tacticians) assaulted the Homeworlds, intent on unmaking all the Demiurg had sought to create. The Demiurg cried to the Imperium for aid, but no reply came. The Jervis Tendril fell upon the Homeworlds.

Despite Jervis’s best efforts, the Demiurg endured and survived.

Fleeing beyond the Halo Stars, the Demiurg reformed into a nomadic nation, but never forgot the injustice it had suffered. Alliances and friends at this time did not come easy, the usually friendly and diplomatic Demiurg having been hardened by atrocity. It’s most beneficial relationship was with the emergent Tau Empire, who like the Imperium before them requested ‘total compliance with the Greater Good’, but again the Demiurg resisted. Despite what they had suffered they would never bow to anyone’s will, they would forget. They would never forgive.

Years past and the Nation grew. It began accepting refugees from other species into its collective, promising that it would never emulate the Imperium that had betrayed it. At some point Demiurg and Tau researchers ‘accidentally’ created The Kriin, a population of self-sufficient and intelligent nanobots. The Kriin devastated parts of the Nation, as it broke everything in its path down into its component parts to increase its own population. This lasted until one Demiurg Child had cried “What do you want?”

The Kriin had halted its assault immediately; no one had ever asked its opinion or its desires before. Since its inception it had been treated as a mindless machine, but here was another sentient species conversing with it. An alliance was eventually drawn between the Nation and the Kriin: the Demiurg would treat the Kriin as an equal species, and give it vast tracts of territory to call its home, and the Kriin would help the Nation in its times of need. This alliance had been most beneficial as there was seemingly no enemy or ordeal the Kriin and Nation united could not defeat. Then the Imperials had come.

That was many moons ago, and now the Imperials had discovered the Kriin, and the Imperials were not happy.

Councillor Grungii rose to his feet in the Assembly and spoke directly to Matthias, his voice like gravel and stone, “You dare come before us and say WE are wrong? After we took you and your bastard kin in from the cold, after we helped your mongrel people? You dare question our methods?”

Matthias stood firm. “Yes” he shouted, “We all know the dangers of Thinking Machines, we all know how close to extinction we came once before at their hands, and yet you openly consort with them? Have you no pride or common sense?”

There was a ripple of amusement from the Assembly, and another councillor, a stout bearded fellow named Mung stood, cleared his throat and joined the argument.

“Captain Matthias” he drawled “You and your people may fear the machine. You fear what you do not understand. We have come to know and understand the Kriin, they are allies and friends. There is a mutual respect that you and your ilk seem quite at odds with. I appreciate that you are afraid of the Kriin but…”

“I am Astartes, I fear NOTHING!” Matthias cut in, his brow furrowed in rage. Mung seemed quite taken aback, but quickly regained his composure.

“…but you must understand that centuries of diplomatic friendship between us and the Kriin cannot and WILL NOT be undone by you and your rampant superstition!”

“And that is your final word on the matter” sighed Matthias, his head lowered. The Assembly answered a resounding yes in one voice. Matthias raised his finger to his ear, and in a voice like magma whispered “very well, the Emperors Will be done”

The Hammer of Ancestry shook violently as torpedoes and lance strikes smashed into it engines. The two Strike Cruisers which had born Matthias to the Council opened fire upon the Demiurg. The Wrath of The Imperial Fists had been unleashed.

Please dont potentially kill off the Nids *cries*

People seem a bit concerned with me 'killing off' species... I'm all about the equality man ^^

Hive fleet Jervis...Yes PLEASE!

In the grimdark future of 40k the squats TAKE A BEATING!

Emperors Faithful wrote:Hive fleet Jervis...Yes PLEASE!

In the grimdark future of 40k the squats TAKE A BEATING!

Ah my friend, despite Jervis's strongest efforts the Squats endure...take that Jervis, take that! :p

And then came the mightyWAAAAAAAGH! Jervis.

Looks like the Fists might have to be renamed the Imperial Jervis Maries - clensers of the undesired story elements.

Just read through the whole thread, some really cool fluff. Keep up the good work.

hmm there's a problem with AI. If I remember well, machines rebelled and provoked the collapse of the human kind in the Gold Age of space exploration that provoked then the dark era where people lives now.

There could be a backfire.

But anyway... great to see my Imperial Fists mauling something

Light Blobe!! The new 40k tau are the good guys and farsight is the Horus.

Sternguard_rock wrote:Light Blobe!! The new 40k tau are the good guys and farsight is the Horus.

sorry...what? lol

It might be quite cool to hear something about an army group en-route to some campaign or other which gets caught out in the middle of nowhere without warp guidance, and what they choose to do. Perhaps their navigators are lost when the Emp dies and they have to limp to the nearest system on sub light drives or something?

KOS wrote:hmm there's a problem with AI. If I remember well, machines rebelled and provoked the collapse of the human kind in the Gold Age of space exploration that provoked then the dark era where people lives now.

Yup, do believe I covered that... :p

KOS wrote:
There could be a backfire.

Who knows :p although I will say that the Demiurg actually treat the Kriin as if they are equal sentients. so they are much less likely to turn against them, unlike say Mankind back in the day