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.

Socking great warp storm bisecting the galaxy, preventing regular warp travel and splitting the Imperium in two. How do we think this will affect webway travel.

Personally, I'd assume that significant warp storms would rupture the fabric of the webway, causing widespread daemonic incursions and further fractures to the ailing system. However, it may well be that it's a lot less disrupted than Imperial travel (which would provide some neat sources of conflict between the Imperium and the Eldar as humanity seeks to avoid the Maledictum).

Is the Maledictum in place during the events of the Fracture of Biel Tan? If so, does the webway seem to be affected during that?

Actually, having compared the galactic maps for Craftworld location relative to the Maledictum it seems like all of the named craftworlds are on the Terran side of the Maledictum, with a significant number of exodite worlds on the 'dark' side. Not that it necessarily changes much, given that the Astronomican means nothing to the Eldar, but it's got potential for some new ideas.

Nice question!

It is unclear to me whether the webway is it's own sub-dimension (I'm sure the 3rd edition DE codex says this) or actually travels through the warp itself (Like the Yncarne teleporting healed thousand sons outside the webway and apparently into the warp), but with many planets consumed by the new rift there must be a lot more webway gates which are allowing Chaos to leak directly into the webway making it even more unpredictable and dangerous.

Surely with the forces of Chaos engaged on so many front they can't also be fighting a war in the webway though!

Thanks!

From what i understood, the webway is sort of a twilight zone on the very surface of the warp, or inbetween the warp and realspace. It could be, however that we're trying to understand the relationship between two things that pay only cursory heed to physical laws, so 'on the surface' might be wildly inaccurate, but as close as our 3-dimensional minds can comprehend

In other words, no idea

Neat insight with the fact that many planets with webway gates are likely caught in warp storms. That's definitely not going to end well!

I do wonder about Chaos fighting on different fronts. I imagine it would be an issue for the CSM, but i have difficulty imagining that daemons are finite in number. They're fractions of gods of lovecraftian proportions. I expect the only limit to the number of fronts they can fight on is the number of fronts that there is available

IIRC particularly violent warp storms can damage some passageways in the webway but to the fact it is so vast in scale this would probably prove to be a minor inconvenience in localised areas and require a minimal diversion.

Also, the webway sits between both the warp and real space. To imagine it, crude analogy incoming, place an imiscable substance such as oil on glass and then the surface with the oil on onto a large area of water. The layer of oil between the glass and water is the webway.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
IIRC particularly violent warp storms can damage some passageways in the webway but to the fact it is so vast in scale this would probably prove to be a minor inconvenience in localised areas and require a minimal diversion.

Also, the webway sits between both the warp and real space. To imagine it, crude analogy incoming, place an imiscable substance such as oil on glass and then the surface with the oil on onto a large area of water. The layer of oil between the glass and water is the webway.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Doh! Clumsy fingers - double post

I picture the Webway as like a tunnel through the ocean.

Interesting, Lexicanium describes it in a similar way being a part of both the warp and realspace but truly existing in neither.

Reading about the birth of Slaanesh causing much damage to the structure of the webway one would have to assume that the creation of the Cicatrix Maledictum would do something similar.
As the webway reacts to expels intruders I can't see Chaos setting up any permanent bases in the Webway but perhaps the destruction of psychic wards would make it easier to infiltrate.

Amusingly the greatest effect might by on the Necrons, according to the background on Dolmen gates they are highly reliant on the Webway for FTL travel but lack the knowledge and proficiency for navigating the webway held by the Eldar. Therefore, the ability for disparate Tomb Worlds to be easily re-enforced might be significantly hampered leading to the Necrons focusing on smaller, geographically homogeneous empires.

This ties in with what we have seen on the new galaxy map, with Necron dynasties claiming distinct areas of territory. I think this is a departure from their representation in previous codexes.

Essentially cuts off reliable travel from one half of the Imperium to the other I think... probably bad news for the webway as mentioned above.

Whilst the webway should not be affected too much because its independent from the material world/warp - sht has to be going down. I think the webway may be even more collapsed due to this, more daemons than usual, more conflict, unsafe travel, etc.

Agreed. I suppose it really depends on how resilient the webway actually is.

The last time we actually heard of it being damaged is when a new Chaos God was born, slap-bang in the middle of the civilisation that used the webway.

Could be minor damage. Could be flooded with daemons. I definitely like the idea that there are now webway gates opening into warp storms though. Sounds like a tricky situation...

 Kroem wrote:
Surely with the forces of Chaos engaged on so many front they can't also be fighting a war in the webway though!

They definitely are, through the ever-predictable Ahriman. We see his forces attempting to lay siege to the Black Library in Hand of Darkness, which is set post-Gathering Storm.

 Robin5t wrote:

 Kroem wrote:
Surely with the forces of Chaos engaged on so many front they can't also be fighting a war in the webway though!

They definitely are, through the ever-predictable Ahriman. We see his forces attempting to lay siege to the Black Library in Hand of Darkness, which is set post-Gathering Storm.

Given magus was trapped in the webway following GS3, I can't help but wonder if this is part of a "just as planned" set up.

 Ynneadwraith wrote:
Agreed. I suppose it really depends on how resilient the webway actually is.

The last time we actually heard of it being damaged is when a new Chaos God was born, slap-bang in the middle of the civilisation that used the webway.

Could be minor damage. Could be flooded with daemons. I definitely like the idea that there are now webway gates opening into warp storms though. Sounds like a tricky situation...

Didn't Magnus Break through the Webway when he went to warn the Emperor about Horus?

Didn't Magnus Break through the Webway when he went to warn the Emperor about Horus?

Didn't he just break through the section of the Imperial webway that is defended by the emperor rather than the psychically defended Eldar parts?

In book 5 of 'The Beast' series the Eldar sacrifice a lot of warlocks or something to make a hole in the webway for just a limited time so it must be a quite a difficult task.

GodDamUser wrote:

 Ynneadwraith wrote:
Agreed. I suppose it really depends on how resilient the webway actually is.

The last time we actually heard of it being damaged is when a new Chaos God was born, slap-bang in the middle of the civilisation that used the webway.

Could be minor damage. Could be flooded with daemons. I definitely like the idea that there are now webway gates opening into warp storms though. Sounds like a tricky situation...

Didn't Magnus Break through the Webway when he went to warn the Emperor about Horus?

Yeah, he did sort of. He broke into the webway, with the help of Tzeentch. There's something in the fluff about him experiencing a surge of power from an unknown source, allowing him to break into the webway.

I suppose if the most powerful psychic Primarch needs help from the Chaos God of warp magic to actually break through the walls of the webway briefly it must be pretty resilient...

 Ynneadwraith wrote:


Yeah, he did sort of. He broke into the webway, with the help of Tzeentch. There's something in the fluff about him experiencing a surge of power from an unknown source, allowing him to break into the webway.

I suppose if the most powerful psychic Primarch needs help from the Chaos God of warp magic to actually break through the walls of the webway briefly it must be pretty resilient...

To be fair he also had to break down the wards put there by the Emperor and it was a permanent tear.

Did he break through the human made parts or the older Webway parts? I'd always assumed the former but I'm not sure. If it was just the human parts the normal Webway may be tougher.

Hmmm, I thought it was the breaking into the webway he had to have help with, rather than the breaking through the Emperor's end (heh).

Anyone have the piece of fluff in front of them to check?

 Ynneadwraith wrote:
Hmmm, I thought it was the breaking into the webway he had to have help with, rather than the breaking through the Emperor's end (heh).

Anyone have the piece of fluff in front of them to check?

He had Help

And broke into the webway.


But my point is if this warp rift is as massive and powerful as it is suggested, there is a good chance there is a fair bit of damage to the webway in between.. not all of it of course but sections could be broken

Planets that have been sucked into the warp itself that hosted gates can now be entry points for daemons.. harlequins and Pathfinders will hard at work.. trying to assets what pathways are/should be blocked