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Just curious, what is everyone's favorite bit of lore trivia?
(Mine is that the Eldar often call humans "mon-keigh," suspiciously similar to "monkey".)

Well, I like how Nurgle is named after the god Nergal, for one. Another one I like, although this isn't so much trivia as an example of where GW got its ideas from, but genestealers being the 40k edition of xeno morphs is cool, since I always had a liking for those critters.

Probably doesn't count, but I do quite enjoy 1d4chan's Cegorach "Facts." As it is 4chan related, venture here at your own peril: https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Cegorach#Fun.28ny.29_facts

Agiel wrote:
Probably doesn't count, but I do quite enjoy 1d4chan's Cegorach "Facts." As it is 4chan related, venture here at your own peril: https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Cegorach#Fun.28ny.29_facts

I'm only halfway through, but this is my new favorite thing ever. Thank you.

 2BlackJack1 wrote:
Well, I like how Nurgle is named after the god Nergal, for one. Another one I like, although this isn't so much trivia as an example of where GW got its ideas from, but genestealers being the 40k edition of xeno morphs is cool, since I always had a liking for those critters.

Maybe in a sort of badly-pronounced way, but Nergal, the Mesopotamian god, is nothing like Nurgle, the Chaos God. Nergal is actually closer to Khorne, really, being a war god and all.

Ghazkul Mag uruk thraka =Margret Thatcher Uruk Hai

The XV before tau suits is a misunderstanding of her'ex'vre meaning "mantle of the hero."

Longshot pulse rifles are powerful and accurate enough to pierce through terminator eye pieces and kill the occupant.

Ion technology was converted from demiurg asteroid mining tech.

The tau's 'modern' fleet does not use traditional thrusters, for the most part they use gravity generators that "squeeze" the ships forward, and forms the basis of thier deflectors and gravtic launchers.

I find it interesting (and hilarious) that the Imperium, the "kill 'em all, let the Emprah sort 'em out" folks we all know and love, requires authorization from Segmentum Command to use a single Deathstrike.


Wreck an entire world, throw a shedload of troops into a meatgrinder, risk precious Titans, use orbital fire support, and call the death of a few billion in a Hive "collateral damage" or "acceptable percentage of civilian losses". But using a single Deathstrike armed with a thermonuclear warhead requires serious micromanagement and elaborate BS.

Psienesis wrote:

 2BlackJack1 wrote:
Well, I like how Nurgle is named after the god Nergal, for one. Another one I like, although this isn't so much trivia as an example of where GW got its ideas from, but genestealers being the 40k edition of xeno morphs is cool, since I always had a liking for those critters.

Maybe in a sort of badly-pronounced way, but Nergal, the Mesopotamian god, is nothing like Nurgle, the Chaos God. Nergal is actually closer to Khorne, really, being a war god and all.

Nergal's an odd one. Sure, he was a war god, but he was also titled the Lord of a Thousand Plagues, and after he forced Ereshkigal to be his sex slave, he was the King of the Underworld as well.

The Serpent Lodge, the Chaos Cult that converted Horus on Davin, uses tthis as its symbol and worships an ancient being known as "Seytan", who is obviously meant to be Satan

The book Horus Rising also uses an actual quote from the Egyptian Book of the Dead about the God Horus defeating a being of Light as a prophecy of the Heresy.

 Furyou Miko wrote:

Psienesis wrote:

 2BlackJack1 wrote:
Well, I like how Nurgle is named after the god Nergal, for one. Another one I like, although this isn't so much trivia as an example of where GW got its ideas from, but genestealers being the 40k edition of xeno morphs is cool, since I always had a liking for those critters.

Maybe in a sort of badly-pronounced way, but Nergal, the Mesopotamian god, is nothing like Nurgle, the Chaos God. Nergal is actually closer to Khorne, really, being a war god and all.

Nergal's an odd one. Sure, he was a war god, but he was also titled the Lord of a Thousand Plagues, and after he forced Ereshkigal to be his sex slave, he was the King of the Underworld as well.

While that is, in the main, true, the underlying causes for that shift in the god's portfolio are suspected to be cultural shifts in the societies of the region. Possibly one supplanting/assimilating others and, over time, the name of the god being applied to another, now-forgotten/lost deity's temples and areas of influence. The various relationships/interactions between the Mesopotamian mythologies make for fascinating studies, one can see the seeds of most of the major, modern world religions in their tales (of particular, personal favor is Inanna's descent into the Underworld and return three days later...).

True. There's probably a market segment just waiting for a Marvel's Thor-style comic about Gilgamesh.

More OT than the discussion of Mesopotamian mythology, the problem with 40k trivia is that there is very, very little in the IP that is "canonically true". It's all rumors, legends, lies, myths, stories, and half-remembered events reported by people who are very far away from, and very long after, the stories they're telling.

I really love that Wraithblade soul stones have to be kept separate from the other soul stones because they are just that angry. To hell with the angry marines, we have Wraithblades!

The Howling Banshee aspect warriors are not a gender restricted path, and while the membership is mainly female Eldar, there are males in there as well. Ofcourse, it's hard to tell, as they all wear the same armour.

That Ogryns are inanely claustrophobic. And that they also really like commissars, because Ogryns wholeheartedly believe in the Emperor.
The idea of commissars gently coercing scared Ogryns into vehicles, and gradually losing their temper is something I hold quite dear.

Gideon Lorr. An inquisitor so gak-the-bath insane in his vehement dislike of psykers, that he has killed multiple navigators.
I'm assuming he is just sedated or restrained Hannibal Lector style when aboard any imperial vessel.

I kind of like how Lion El'jonson is sleeping in a secret chamber inside the Rock and yet the Dark Angels, even Chapter Master Azrael himself, have no idea...

 Pendix wrote:
The Howling Banshee aspect warriors are not a gender restricted path, and while the membership is mainly female Eldar, there are males in there as well. Ofcourse, it's hard to tell, as they all wear the same armour.

Yes, this. XD Because Eldar society has achieved total sexual equality, they only have the concept of 'gender' in two meanings - reproductive, and ritual. And since the war mask of an Aspect Warrior is literally becoming a different person, the reproductive gender of an Eldar has no bearing on their ritual gender!

The rumour that Vulkan is part of the chief Necron's treasure collection.

JustALittleOrkish wrote:
The rumour that Vulkan is part of the chief Necron's treasure collection.

I have never heard of this before, but now I love it.

It's kind of a creative interpretation of a mention of "a giant man in baroque armor" that is in Trazyn's collection (not the Silent King's, the Silent King gives not a feth about trinkets).

The original snippet on the 70 marines that defected so the empire would find out about Horus Treachery.

I would say my favorite bit of trivia involves how the Paternova (the ruler of the Navis Nobilite) is chosen.

Every thousand years or so the current Paternova dies, and the heads of the Great Houses begin mutating into the Heirs Apparent, uncontrollably violent psychic monsters who hunt each other down and kill/devour one another until only the strongest remains.

Whereupon that one becomes enthroned on Terra for the next thousand years and is never seen by humans again.

My personal opinion: tyranid.

Salamander apothecaries painting their left arm/left side of helmet red as tribute to an early XVIIIth Legion Medic who refused to wash the blood of the fallen brothers he tended from his armor.

 Carlson793 wrote:
Salamander apothecaries painting their left arm/left side of helmet red as tribute to an early XVIIIth Legion Medic who refused to wash the blood of the fallen brothers he tended from his armor.

I guess he was the type who didn't believed in the Germ Theory or sterilisation.

 Pendix wrote:
The Howling Banshee aspect warriors are not a gender restricted path, and while the membership is mainly female Eldar, there are males in there as well. Ofcourse, it's hard to tell, as they all wear the same armour.

They are Eldar... It is already virtually impossible to tell males and females apart

 Iron_Captain wrote:

 Pendix wrote:
The Howling Banshee aspect warriors are not a gender restricted path, and while the membership is mainly female Eldar, there are males in there as well. Ofcourse, it's hard to tell, as they all wear the same armour.

They are Eldar... It is already virtually impossible to tell males and females apart

I don't even know where to start with this post XD

I find literally anything that comes out of 1d4chan's mouth makes most 40k trivia hilarious. The page on Slaanesh gave me a good laugh.

Xenoesis wrote:
I would say my favorite bit of trivia involves how the Paternova (the ruler of the Navis Nobilite) is chosen.

Every thousand years or so the current Paternova dies, and the heads of the Great Houses begin mutating into the Heirs Apparent, uncontrollably violent psychic monsters who hunt each other down and kill/devour one another until only the strongest remains.

Whereupon that one becomes enthroned on Terra for the next thousand years and is never seen by humans again.

My personal opinion: tyranid.

I had honestly never heard this before and its so cool and awesome it will be the basis of any 40k based rpg I run. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

back in the early days of 40k, the Ultramarines as we know them were not actually the first Ultramarines. They were a newer chapter that took the titles, traditions, and planets of the UM legion after they went traitor. Basically, UMs were traitors, and this new chapter got their name by kicking the CRAP out of some 'nids

My favorite trivia: Space marine armor recycles all the... waste the space marines crap out and turns that stuff into recycled nutrient paste they can access at any time...