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I had a debate this morning with a friend about Chaos. He seemed to think that nobody in the IoM knows about Chaos apart from the Grey Knights, Inquisition and Space Marines. He stated that all the 'ordinary' humans were either eliminated, or were confined to their planets if they so much as heard about Chaos. Naturally, I stated differently.

Now, I know that if an IG unit is fighting alongside the GK then they are executed or sterilised after combat, such as with the population of Armageddon following the 1st War for Armageddon, but is this not just a special case considering the GK are intended to be a secret and were involved, and the presence of Angron had to be kept secret?

Or is this a general rule - humans aren't allowed to know about Chaos? (This still doesn't explain how Cadian regiments get posted all round the galaxy - originating from a planet under siege by Chaos).

Anybody want to shed some light on this?

As far as I know, Imperial Citizens are *aware* of Chaos, but don't *know* about it.. They know what it does because they all know they'll die if they worship it, but they don't have any sort of in-depth knowledge. For example, I'm sure there are many tales on planets of Chaos Cults, The Horus Heresy etc, so they'd know about it through that too. I don't think IG Regiments are killed or sterilized if they fight Chaos, but I'm sure they'd all be executed if they got too close and were tainted by it.. Just a guy with an opinion

Very similar to what was said above . People are aware of what Chaos is but very few are aware of what it does and its true from ( Those few being Cadians , Inquisitors , Space Marines ect. ) In the First war for Armaggedon that was done both because they considered everyone tainted by chaos at the time and the prescense of Grey Knights was ment to be a Secret and lets not forget the fight between the Space wolves and the Grey Knights over the geneocide

Yeah, that's what I meant about 'know about it'. Obviously it's heretical to actually have in-depth knowledge about Chaos (At least for the average citizen), but I didn't think they were completely oblivious to it's existence.

With tens of millions of citizens traveling through the warp over the millenia there would definitely be a low level awareness of the warp and its inhabitants among educated members of the IoM.

GW fluff writers like to blow up and sterilize planets in the codexes because they are not very sophisticated writers.

That is probably a bit unfair considering the only instances that I know of where that happened is on Armageddon or contact with Grey Knights. The former happened because Angron and the GK were present on Armageddon, and the latter because the GK are meant to be a secret chapter - how could they aid the Inquisition root out a rogue Planetary Governor if all and sundry know of their existence.

They are generally mindwiped rather than executed, executions would only happen in the worst of worst case scenarios.

If citizens were completely oblivious to chaos' existence, then cults to chaos couldn't possibly start up on planets. If they don't know about it, then they can't possibly worship it.

 Evileyes wrote:
They are generally mindwiped rather than executed, executions would only happen in the worst of worst case scenarios.

No, only people deemed important enough get mindwiped instead of killed.

Depends on the Inquisitor and situation.

 Ignatius wrote:
If citizens were completely oblivious to chaos' existence, then cults to chaos couldn't possibly start up on planets. If they don't know about it, then they can't possibly worship it.

No, Chaos would have an easier time starting cults. Just make it out to be an Imperial cult/club/gathering at first, then slowly hook people on the activities.

And at least spacefarers need to be aware that there's things out there - the Enforcer trilogy stated that if something comes through the Geller fields while you're in the warp everyone has a duty to pick up a weapon and help stop it. They might not know exactly what it is, but they know there's something out there that wants to eat them.

Yeah I would say that certainly space-faring humans would be aware of the existence of daemons and such #(or at least 'warp spirits' etc.), But the cults don't necessarily advertise themselves as Chaos cults. Like Spetulhu mentioned, the cults mask themselves at first and only when at the height of their power do they reveal themselves.

Normal Imperial citizens are certainly aware that there are dark forces in the universe, commonly referred to as the Ruinous Powers, even if they don't know any of them by name (nor even how many there are).

In Sandy Mitchell's novel The Traitor's Hand, there is a telling scene where Commissar Cain briefs a room of military personnel about the nature of the Chaos cultists they are facing. While some of the lower ranking officers seem shocked by what he reveals to them (the distinction between Chaos gods, the fact that they fight one another) others (particularly General Zyvan, an IG general) already know what he's telling them. In Ravenor (by Dan Abnett), and the series it takes place in, some of the civilians seem to have at least a passing knowledge of the Ruinous Powers.

Based on what I've read in the background novels, here's what I think it's safe to say the Imperium (at large) "knows" about Chaos. The higher up in rank someone is (in any organization, be it civilian or military) the more likely they are to know most of these facts.

1. There are dark forces known as the Ruinous Powers.
2. Some deluded fools worship these Powers as gods. Those who do gather together in degenerate groups. Anyone encountering these groups should report them to the Inquisition immediately.
3. The Ruinous Powers can warp the sacred human form, and some of these cultists can perform dark magic fueled by the Powers.
4. Any devout citizen will be protected from this aberrant sorcery if their belief in the Emperor is strong enough.


The misconception your friend seems to be under comes from the fact that the Inquisition has been known to round up and quarantine, sterilize, and even exterminate those exposed to too much of the forces of Chaos. Particularly in worlds suffering from daemonic infestation, the idea is that the taint of Chaos has spread too far into the population, and it's safer to eliminate all of them (and be sure that all those who have been silently corrupted are dead) then risk allowing them to spread the taint of Chaos to another world.

As with all things, the franchise is vast, and you may find one story where regular PDF troopers are rounding up a Chaos cult, and then find another story a month down the road from a different author, where he has an Inquisitor executing anyone who even knows how to spell 'Nurgle.' In the balance, I think the average citizen knows just enough to know they never want to know any more about Chaos.

In any event, I hope that helps.

 Evileyes wrote:
They are generally mindwiped rather than executed, executions would only happen in the worst of worst case scenarios.

Not really. Unless the troops are inherently valuable (Space Marines) or have a powerful sponsor, mindwipes are too much trouble and expense. Life is cheap in 40k, and Guardsmen are near the bottom of that scale.

As for when "containment procedures" are initiated, I believe there are a few particular triggers:

1. The soldiers had close contact with minions of Chaos and they may have been tainted. Artillery crews wouldn't (likely) be suspected of corruption, but anyone who's been fighting Nurgle cultists hand-to-hand is going to be purged, preferably with weapons that keep you out of coughing range.
2. The soldiers encountered Daemons. Knowledge that there are forces of Chaos is not especially uncommon, but the existence of actual warp entities is a very closely-guarded secret. The good news is that most soldiers that encounter Daemons will come pre-purged for your convenience.
3. The soldiers gained knowledge that the Inquisition doesn't want spread. The existence of the Grey Knights is the main example of this, but I'm sure there are countless examples of technology, history, or other fields of knowledge that the Inquisition believes must not become common knowledge.

 Jimsolo wrote:

2. Some deluded fools worship these Powers as gods. Those who do gather together in degenerate groups. Anyone encountering these groups should report them to the Inquisition immediately.

Good point, that - if the citizens don't know about this then how is anyone reporting these things so the Inquisition can step in and clean it up? People do know, though they might not know as much as we do from reading codexes, rulebooks and novels.

Spetulhu wrote:


Good point, that - if the citizens don't know about this then how is anyone reporting these things so the Inquisition can step in and clean it up? People do know, though they might not know as much as we do from reading codexes, rulebooks and novels.

It'sOne of the things that annoys me about Dan Abnett's stories; everyone always knows everything!

Subscribing to the traditional background idea that the Inquisition and, as is often unmentioned, the Adeptus Administratum, try to ensure that knowledge of Chaos does not spread beyond a few individuals.

So how would the Inquisition learn of Chaotic activity? Simply they wouldmonitor all Imperial networks and, from the nature of crimes and other disturbances would know that it sounds less like vicious murders or generic uprisings and see the hand of something more sinister at work.

Afterall the nature of Chaos does not require those whom it corrupts to even know that Chaos exists.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Often it is the case that Chaos corrupts those who believe thmselves to be righteous and pure right up until a daemon bursts out of their skull!

(apologies for the double post but I'm using a phone)

There's a short story where a planet has come under cultist invasion and demons are starting to break in to reality. The planetary governor reflects back on how it was his fault for ignoring the arbites' reports that chaos cult activity on the planet was suspiciously on the rise. Thus it is likely that at least the planetary governors and the adeptus arbites know some details of chaos. Although of course a lot of WH40k is "depending on the writer".

Contrary to some posters, I feel that the Abnet approach seems pretty solid on how the Imperium of Man learns of and interacts with the idea of Chaos.

IG were on a Chaos world for an extended period of time...they were neither executed nor mind-wiped upon return and I didn't feel betrayed by the author in regards to the outcome.

I also feel that different Inquisitors will handle situations differently, just like the concept of them being Radical or not...and it's grey areas. I also feel that the time and resources required to search out every single person who knows about Chaos isn't worth accomplishing in the Imperium of Man.

Think, massive beaurocracy with a few individuals(Inquisition) that constantly battle these machinations of Chaos...sometimes their time is much better spent elsewhere. A stricter adherence Inquisitor might simply execute anybody who knew, whereas an Inquisitor that has no problem utilizing Chaos against itself would allow them to live.

Just some thoughts..

I believe in one of the Cain novels he mentions demons in a high ranking meeting and only himself and the main IG guy know for sure of their existence, it says something about how alot of the other people in the room thought demons were rumors and myths.

It also mentions in one of the short stories of Cain about him fighting on a world that two different chaos factions are fighting, so it shows that IG know about chaos just based on them having fought chaos forces before, and its my understanding that the forces Cain is involved with are never executed or wiped.

As far as regular humans go Im sure chaos is a rumor/myth that people hear about but dont necessarily know alot about it. Something I was reading recently mentioned people scaring kids with tales of demons, maybe it was the last chancers omnibus?

It is noted that the reason the Inquisition begins purging the population of the world of Armageddon after the First War there, is because they witnessed a Daemon Primarch, which was knowledge that was not to be possessed by anyone not of the Inquisition or similarly-ranking groups.

Thanks to all posters - you've greatly helped to clarify that which I already suspected. I guess it is mostly dependent upon the writer, but I reckon the overall consensus of the thread is that whilst citizens are aware of Chaos, and the fact that it is bad, any attempt to gain in depth knowledge of Chaos is punished with a purge or some sort - be it elimination of low priority individuals or the mind-wipe of higher status individuals.

Many thanks to all posters (especially Jimsolo - your post was very clear, cheers mate )