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This one was bugging me for a day now. How does Chaos corruption work?
I understand what Warp space is and how it is fueled by emotions of all beings, but I wanna know more about experiences of corrupted individuals.

1. Lets say some random citizen turns to Chaos on a big Hive world (how did he turn in the first place?)('')

Now, how does he turn other people to Chaos? Does he "radiate" with some kind of energy? Does Chaos spread like a disease?
From what I read in the novels, entire Imperial Guard companies can easily be corrupted and turn their back to the Emperor. (or everyone else for that matter.)


2. When you turn to Chaos, is that a slow process? Or is it like: *BAM*, I follow slaanesh now.
Is the individual aware that something is wrong?


3. The entire hive world gets corrupted. What do they do? Do they start killing/torturing each other?

1. Its usually is some week willed lower citizen who really have lost hope or sometimes higher up people but i dont think that happens offten.

2. Chaos is a subversive being so to say it slowly chips away at your being and slowly consumes the being

3. It depends does this world aid the war effort for example is it a forge world does it make food does it have shrines dedicated to the IOM or there is no chance of purging the taint from the planet. and if not the planet is set for exterminatus

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Chaos_Cults#.Ug6WFWCLF7M

hope this helps my not be entirely correct

1) Chaos is powered by thoughts and emotions. By the Imperium's definition, you are corrupt simply by consorting with it. Just being in contact with Chaos can be dangerous, though it usually isn't. Still, the Imperium is very paranoid about that sort of thing.

As a general rule, you have to be willingly corrupted. After all, chaos is powered by thoughts.

2) Usually slow, because you have to be somewhat willing. Sometimes quickly, but that's rare.

3) Chaos worshippers vary greatly. As a general rule they're just normal people, but more emotional. Crime will probably go up as order deteriorates.

The way I understand it is its like propoganda. Cultist sleeper agent walks into the bar, spots someone looking down. Buys him a drink. "Hard day?" type deal. Then he turns it around to make it look like the Imperium's fault. Saying how the PDF/manufactorum workers etc are underappreciated, but its the Imperium/Emperor's fault really cuz they call the shots. Then eventually goes to "Hey, I can make life better. Meet me at X at X time."

Where the previously turned Cultist draw him in with the robes ad worship. Either that or kill him.

It's a relatively slow process at first. It starts with people who are more or less pre-disposed to one of the 4 powers. It could be nobles looking for thrills and pleasure, individuals looking to get ahead in life, soldiers who thirst for combat, or somebody facing a disease. For example, say you've got a bored noble on some random dirtball of a planet. They have time and money, so they start delving into hobbies. It could start with some drugs and sex, and slowly leads to researching more "interesting" and hardcore methods of pleasure. Soon there's a Slaanesh cult that's operating under the radar, but drawing in a variety of individuals.

It could happen quicker in a situation where some agent of Chaos comes in. This agent could speed up the process by either targeting individuals ripe for conversion, or forcing a situation that drives people to seek aid from the powers of Chaos. An example would be an agent of Nurgle who introduces a disease to a population, and then tells people that praying to Nurgle will alleviate their symptoms. People who receive no aid from the Emperor would convert and the rest would die.

Another situation where conversion may be faster would be during transits in the Warp.

In the scenario of a hive world, you'd probably see the spread within a hive city. Law and order would break down and people would either be converted to Chaos's plan, or die. Slowly the entire city would fall to Chaos and the "disease" as it were, could spread across the planet. In the case of Tzeentch, let's say, the process may be slow, and would probably involve a lot of political intrigue and plotting. For Khorne, it would likely result in one hive launching a war against other hives. An invasion by Nurgle would probably lead to diseases wracking entire cities. Can't be sure in Slaanesh's case, though perhaps an infiltration that leads to the summoning of demonettes and the like, that then go on to prey on those unfortunate to be in the city or on the planet.

Slaanesh is well-off rich populations gradually descending into hedonism. That's why there are usually Slaanesh pleasure cults on pleasure planets, and what happened to the Contqual sector (before the Iron Hands came in and killed EVERYONE).

The way I've read it, corruption also feeds on doubt, which is why it spreads like a cancer once it has taken root publicly. It is an erosion of the soul in that the individual does not have to pledge their service to Chaos intentionally - indeed, many human colonies and even Orks have prayed to the Chaos Gods under completely different names simply because they were confused or misled. What matters is one's subconscious psychological resilience, and a person's moral compass. This is why the most insidious Chaos cults hide themselves within the Imperial faith, appearing as a Ministorum-approved subsect and publicly preaching of salvation by the Emperor's hand ... yet in doing so, they lead people astray by teaching a twisted version of the Imperial Creed.

For example, check this little story about an outbreak of the Warp-fueled zombie plague on the hive world of Subiaco Diablo during the opening stages of Abbadon's 13th Black Crusade, and how sheer power of will seems to suffice to resist its touch. The same thing holds true for the so-called Bloodtide mentioned in the GK Codex and the 6E rulebook's timeline.

Just look at this thread, and you'll see how much corruption, and chaos itself, varies. Everyone has different answers and perspectives.

In the siege of Vraks books there is a picture of a chaos militia member of the rogue planet and it mentions the Chaos star on his shoulder. It also says that he most likely doesn't understand what it means and has no idea about chaos.

Knowledge of the warp isn't widespread. Can you imagine the damage if everyone knew about Chaos? The Imperium wouldn't last a day. But think of the corruption this way, it is opportunity, a choice. Not many people get to choose in everyday Imperial life so a decision is a big thing. For example lets look back on the militia member. It described him as wearing former prison coveralls as he was member f the chain gangs. Do you really think he cared why he was fighting? All he knew was someone set him free gave him a gun and the opportunity for some payback. That would entice most people.

The matter of chaos is complex and its depcition depends on the author (it's 40k, after all). You could state, for example, that Chaos feeds on certain strong emotions or states of mind, locally acumulating power if many beings are in the same state (of despair, rage, etc.). Though, wouldn't that turn every single Eversor assassin into a Khorne berserker sooner or later? So there's more...

I think tundrafrog got one very fundemental idea about Chaos right in that it is about a choice, and more speficically, about selfish choice. Or as the followers of the Dark Gods might put it, choice of freedom over servitude . This choice is often pictured as a result of a weak mind. So, even when Chaos is depicted as something that is physically infectous and corrupting, a strong will can still counter it. Ofc, all that goes out the window with fething psykers. If your head is a conduit to hell, innocence really proves nothing.

So, imho,
1. If a random citizen turned to Chaos, he would still need convince other people to join a cult or something i guess, just standing next to them won't be enough
I think, for physical corruption to take place, you need active worship, direct intervention by a very powerful warp being, or conditions under which Chaos has a stronger hold on the material realm. Or anything with pykers, ofc.
2. Physical corruption is supposed to take time (exception again: psykers), whereas the moment where someone took the wrong turn is sometimes easy to pin down ( as in the case of Horus).
3. Depends on which god has a hand in it, as mentioned above.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
I keep thinking about a certain "Gaunt's Ghosts" novel, that plays out on a world that has been in the hands of the Chaos forces for a while. It seems like this lead to a subtle kind of corruption, which settles on the minds of the soldiers, making them more aggressive than they would otherwise be, and leading to a sickness, called the "ague", that shows symptoms of some kind of infection and is treated with blessed water. Ofc, the first could be explained by stress (the soldiers are on a covert mission behind eneny lines), and the second by being exposed to a new biosphere with some new germs (with the holy water being a placebo). I think it's kept ambigious on purpose by some authors.

 Deadshot wrote:
The way I understand it is its like propoganda. Cultist sleeper agent walks into the bar, spots someone looking down. Buys him a drink. "Hard day?" type deal. Then he turns it around to make it look like the Imperium's fault. Saying how the PDF/manufactorum workers etc are underappreciated, but its the Imperium/Emperor's fault really cuz they call the shots. Then eventually goes to "Hey, I can make life better. Meet me at X at X time."

Where the previously turned Cultist draw him in with the robes ad worship. Either that or kill him.

communism?


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Broly wrote:
This one was bugging me for a day now. How does Chaos corruption work?
I understand what Warp space is and how it is fueled by emotions of all beings, but I wanna know more about experiences of corrupted individuals.
1. Lets say some random citizen turns to Chaos on a big Hive world (how did he turn in the first place?)('')
Now, how does he turn other people to Chaos? Does he "radiate" with some kind of energy? Does Chaos spread like a disease?
From what I read in the novels, entire Imperial Guard companies can easily be corrupted and turn their back to the Emperor. (or everyone else for that matter.)
2. When you turn to Chaos, is that a slow process? Or is it like: *BAM*, I follow slaanesh now.
Is the individual aware that something is wrong?
3. The entire hive world gets corrupted. What do they do? Do they start killing/torturing each other?

The Chaos gods are GODs. A mortal calls out for power, deliverance from suffering, for anything and the chaos god listens. The god then provides knowledge, power, insight or nothing. Sometimes the god reveals themselves sometimes they use the guise of some other being. Sometimes there is a contract sometimes there isnt. IE you give me your soul for X power or X information. Other times it's, o so you are poor well if you go to X at X time you can steal a bunch of X from the local magistrate, take it for free(it causes chaos). Or hey you are suffering from some disease. You know what Ill cure that disease but also give you some horrible nurgly thing that will make you wish you just had your cold.

In any case, it starts with a call for help.

 Exergy wrote:

 Deadshot wrote:
The way I understand it is its like propoganda. Cultist sleeper agent walks into the bar, spots someone looking down. Buys him a drink. "Hard day?" type deal. Then he turns it around to make it look like the Imperium's fault. Saying how the PDF/manufactorum workers etc are underappreciated, but its the Imperium/Emperor's fault really cuz they call the shots. Then eventually goes to "Hey, I can make life better. Meet me at X at X time."

Where the previously turned Cultist draw him in with the robes ad worship. Either that or kill him.

communism?

Religion.

 purplefood wrote:

 Exergy wrote:

 Deadshot wrote:
The way I understand it is its like propoganda. Cultist sleeper agent walks into the bar, spots someone looking down. Buys him a drink. "Hard day?" type deal. Then he turns it around to make it look like the Imperium's fault. Saying how the PDF/manufactorum workers etc are underappreciated, but its the Imperium/Emperor's fault really cuz they call the shots. Then eventually goes to "Hey, I can make life better. Meet me at X at X time."

Where the previously turned Cultist draw him in with the robes ad worship. Either that or kill him.

communism?

Religion.

r

Bit of both.

A numbe of Bl Novels - the Ghosts books and the Word Bearers omnibus have in depth descrpitions of systematic and quite horrific transformations of planetary populations into slaves and in some cases eventually willing worshippers of the Chaos Powers.

Anyone who ever asks for help is potentially a entry point for couruption..........even if they are not expecting a response or a merely crying to themselves in the dark. Something might hear them and answer..............that is the universe of 40K..