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.

Testify wrote:

Tadashi wrote:
I don't recall Guilliman being the sole High Lord of Terra during his time as Lord Commander. IIRC, the only man who had the gall to do that was Goge Vandire...in any case, the Lord Commander would be head of the council (note the spelling) and first among equals. That last part is something I have never really gotten my mind around, but I believe its the best description for the position.

All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.

Pretty much. The fluff has never been explicit, but the implication has always been that Guilliman was in charge, and the High Lords only really took power when he stepped down.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Ronin wrote:

Tadashi wrote:

DeffDred wrote:You are correct.

Thats why in the Imperial Palace his statue is labled "Savior of the Imperium". Which stands next to the statue of Garro labled "Hero of the Imperium".

Perhaps, but the Imperium has no future. We can thank Malcador for that...had Guilliman taken the throne as opposed to letting the council govern, the Imperium would have been better off.

The Imperium did have a future. It held for 10,000 (over 9,000!!!) years after Malcador passed and the Emperor was interred into the Golden Throne. As I've said countless times, Primarchs were made for war, not governing an empire. In that respect, Malcador was superior than most of the Primarchs.

The Imperium has been decaying slowly but surely over the last ten thousand years.

And neither Malcador nor Guilliman were around to lead it. Malcador probably was superior to most of the Primarchs. Guilliman was probably the sole exception. I know it's the cool kid thing to do to hate Guilliman, but if anybody was both qualified, and in the position to inherit the Imperium, it was him. He was a son of the Emperor. He was unmatched amongst the primarchs at leading and administrating. Think about it for a second. When the Emperor found the primarchs, most of them were kings, or warlords, or generals. Guilliman was already an emperor himself. The guy built most of the Ultima Segmentum by himself, and left it all with a solid infrastructure and stable governments. He was able to build and sustain a legion that was bigger than several other legions combined.

The Imperium of 30K was held together by force of will and a solid, cohesive idea for the future that was unquestioned. A Primarch such as Guilliman probably could have maintained that cohesion. As soon as the Imperium was handed over to a group of individuals with their own agendas, that was when the Imperium started to slowly crumble. The Imperium of 40K is a shadow of the Imperium of 30K. It's far more feudal than totalitarian. Sure, the High Lord and other Adeptus organizations like to think they are in charge, and all powerful. But their authority really only extends over where they can project power, and maintain peace with oppressive agencies like the Ecclessiarchy and the Arbites, as well as pervasive propaganda. That was true to an extent in 30K, however there (appears to have been at least) was far less division up until the Ruinous Powers were able to subvert the traitor primarchs.

Testify wrote:Why should it be a primarch? I'm not sure how the Imperial Guard or mechanicus would feel about that

They would be overjoyed to be in the presence of a demigod and ecstatic he is leading them.