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So we all know 40K is grim dark, I love it, I agree to it, it's awesome. But I've always wondered, what is a sacrifice to the Dark Gods? I know when someone worships one of the dark gods, their soul belongs to that god. I just assume that means that if there is an afterlife, whatever's left of your "life" goes to the dark gods, and you become one with them and their hellish domains. I always figured your normal peon in the 40k universe probably has no relevance in the warp and when their soul does gets sent to the warp, it usually doesn't mean anything to anyone. But time and time again there have been billions of people and total worlds "sacrificed to the dark gods". What does that mean? Does that mean someone has omitted these people's souls to a god of chaos and subjected their souls to whatever hellish domains the warp sees fit? Have these people really just been sent to "hell" with no say in the matter? I guess what I'm asking is 40K THAT grim dark?

Not that I have a problem with grim dark, I'd just like some clarification on the issue in general, or to see what other people think about it...

In short, yes, 40k is that grim dark. When humans die in 40k, their soul goes into the warp and like as not will end up a plaything for the warp denizens anyway but when people are specifically sacrificed to the dark gods, (usually to a specific one, not just chaos undivided), their souls are harvested by that god to do with as they please.
In a metaphor --
When people die, their souls drop into the underbrush of the warp and the warp beings can forage around and find some.
When whole groups are sacrificed, it's like ringing a dinner bell and dropping a nicely wrapped box of souls into the warp.

These sacrifices benefits the chaos gods in a couple ways;

Firstly, it weakens the barrier between the warp and reality in the area. So sacrificing a whole planet full of people could allow a warp storm to spill over into reality or open a portal for many daemons to spill forth.

Secondly, the souls themselves have value because not only can the Chaos gods feed on them and gain more power for their infinite struggle against the other Chaos Gods... but they're often needed for spells or rituals to allow daemons access to the materium -- daemons can even buy bodies from the Dark Mechanicus with souls.

Thank you, I appreciate you clearing that up for me. I've always wondered if everything really was that dark and grim.

When I first read the Chaos Space Marine codex in Jr. High years ago, I couldn't understand what it had meant to sacrifice people to the dark gods. I didn't think anyone had the capability to basically say "hey i'm gonna kill you then subject your soul to endless torture and there's nothing you can do about it."

Damn. Those dudes are evil.

We don't really think of it often, but Chaos Space Marines are really so evil so that any evil we know today - like ISIS and nazis - come across as petty and meek before them.

Hell, the Imperium is comparable to the nazis, and they are considered the good guys next to Chaos.

I always considered it a sacrifice In the same way the Aztecs made human sacrifices: make a killing in the name of a god to bring some sort of benefit to the sacrifice, whether it be a bountiful harvest that year or a warp gate to spill forth screaming hordes of daemons into reality.

But time and time again there have been billions of people and total worlds "sacrificed to the dark gods". What does that mean? Does that mean someone has omitted these people's souls to a god of chaos and subjected their souls to whatever hellish domains the warp sees fit? Have these people really just been sent to "hell" with no say in the matter? I guess what I'm asking is 40K THAT grim dark?

It generally involves a large block of dark stone or metal, a dude (or dudette) in a robe, with a very sharp knife. Also, one hell of a queue to wait your turn on the block.

 damattybear wrote:
Does that mean someone has omitted these people's souls to a god of chaos and subjected their souls to whatever hellish domains the warp sees fit?

Yup. Of course, the souls of most sentient creatures enter the warp upon death. But only the souls of psykers(among other things) are strong enough to maintain self-awareness when they die. Normal people's souls aren't aware of their suffering. A sacrifice to the dark gods just gives them a large glut of instant souls, instead of the normal trickle. Souls are basically currency, plaything, toilet paper, etc... in the Warp. Psyker souls are more valuable too because they maintain self-awareness and can thus be a more interesting plaything.

Its believed that the souls of loyal imperial citizens may join the Emperor, but there is scant evidence of this being anything more than a rare occurrence.

... other than the 1000 a day he devours? There's plenty of evidence that the Emperor gets the souls of his faithful, barring other Warp Shenanigans.