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So, what do people think? I have read some summaries but haven't been able to find a complete run down of the fluff in BoB, but what I've seen I enjoyed. Primaris moving into Death Company is cool thematically as well as opening up gameplay options, and I think the Blood Angel's bittersweet response was well-written. Any juicy tidbits about the Nids in there? And explanation for those hints that there was something specific they wanted from Baal?

It seems pretty one-sided tbh from what I've read, AFAIK Nids never won any battles and its more or less BA doing a reconquista of their system from Nids.

Haha hahaha nope. Blood angels dumpster the nids within 2 paragraphs any time it comes to blows. The book is pure bolterporn, as basically all the fluff is.

That's too bad.

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
That's too bad.

I advise against putting toooo much stock in Scotsman's response as given what I've seen in PA2 most battles are only given about 1-2 pages or so. so all battles are pretty lightly detailed compared to say... Vigilus.

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
So, what do people think? I have read some summaries but haven't been able to find a complete run down of the fluff in BoB, but what I've seen I enjoyed. Primaris moving into Death Company is cool thematically as well as opening up gameplay options, and I think the Blood Angel's bittersweet response was well-written. Any juicy tidbits about the Nids in there? And explanation for those hints that there was something specific they wanted from Baal?

If you read the 'Devastation of Baal', you'll find the Tyranids actually appeared to deliberately target the Red Scar (which is a high risk, low reward area of space) and the Blood Angels/Baal in particular. This raised lots of questions about how intelligent and deliberate the Tyranids were in the Imperium. It's almost as if they wanted revenge against the Blood Angels.

Dante raised a massive force comprising over twenty Chapters descended from Sanguinius, many of whom were lost in the defence of Baal.

I haven't read the Psychic Awakening bits yet (do plan to get it), but the DoB lays all of the foundations on which it is clearly based.

BrianDavion wrote:

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
That's too bad.

I advise against putting toooo much stock in Scotsman's response as given what I've seen in PA2 most battles are only given about 1-2 pages or so. so all battles are pretty lightly detailed compared to say... Vigilus.

I'm pretty certain Scotsman's complaint was less 'the battles are too short' and more 'its pure bolterporn with NPC Nids getting rekt all the time'.

Indeed the length of the battle has absolutely no impact on its quality - we've seen entire books that are nothing but glorified bolterporn in the past for example.

Because of this very thread I have literally just downloaded Blood of Baal from Warhammer Digital!

 An Actual Englishman wrote:

BrianDavion wrote:

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
That's too bad.

I advise against putting toooo much stock in Scotsman's response as given what I've seen in PA2 most battles are only given about 1-2 pages or so. so all battles are pretty lightly detailed compared to say... Vigilus.

I'm pretty certain Scotsman's complaint was less 'the battles are too short' and more 'its pure bolterporn with NPC Nids getting rekt all the time'.

Indeed the length of the battle has absolutely no impact on its quality - we've seen entire books that are nothing but glorified bolterporn in the past for example.

Kinda both, tbh? There just never seemed to be much tension at all in the story. Dante says "I want these 4 worlds yall" and half the time, when they show up the tyranids haven't even managed to overrun like a local garrison. There's some imperial navy troops holding them off in one location.

Combine that with Dragon Ball Z level displays of power from the bangles (Mephiston casually blocks the firepower of an entire army at one point) and there being no real character or strategy on the nids' part and it didn't even feel like they were NPCs, it felt like they were not even there. The blood angels could have been fighting Orks, or swarms of daemons, or even like a really big hurricane and you would not have to rewrite the story at all.

 Darian Aarush wrote:

 NinthMusketeer wrote:
So, what do people think? I have read some summaries but haven't been able to find a complete run down of the fluff in BoB, but what I've seen I enjoyed. Primaris moving into Death Company is cool thematically as well as opening up gameplay options, and I think the Blood Angel's bittersweet response was well-written. Any juicy tidbits about the Nids in there? And explanation for those hints that there was something specific they wanted from Baal?

If you read the 'Devastation of Baal', you'll find the Tyranids actually appeared to deliberately target the Red Scar (which is a high risk, low reward area of space) and the Blood Angels/Baal in particular. This raised lots of questions about how intelligent and deliberate the Tyranids were in the Imperium. It's almost as if they wanted revenge against the Blood Angels.

Dante raised a massive force comprising over twenty Chapters descended from Sanguinius, many of whom were lost in the defence of Baal.

I haven't read the Psychic Awakening bits yet (do plan to get it), but the DoB lays all of the foundations on which it is clearly based.

But revenge on the Blood Angels is sooooo silly.

Giving the Hivemind a desire of revenge and anger at the Blood Angels was a mistake in writing for sure. Perhaps it could have been represented as the Hivemind recognizing that these Huge Red Warriors from this normally "weak" food source were a factor in a few small defeats it had suffered. They bolstered morale in the smaller variants, were more skilled and ferocious, as well as more mobile.
Finding and destroying their "nest/breeding ground" would definitely be a priority if it considered them a special breed. And through consumption of any of their dead, it may recognize that.

But giving it feelings.... Ugh.

I don't mind the feelings as much as I do that they picked the Blood Angels. Even if we accept the idea that the Tyranids can desire revenge (I don't but ignore that) then why BA? There are much more sensible things for them to want revenge on.

pm713 wrote:
I don't mind the feelings as much as I do that they picked the Blood Angels. Even if we accept the idea that the Tyranids can desire revenge (I don't but ignore that) then why BA? There are much more sensible things for them to want revenge on.

Yeah, as much as I loathe giving UM any more spotlight time, you'd think the Nids would be more pissed at the UM for their role against Hive Fleet Kraken and likewise for Iyanden for helping take out their tendril as well.

pm713 wrote:
I don't mind the feelings as much as I do that they picked the Blood Angels. Even if we accept the idea that the Tyranids can desire revenge (I don't but ignore that) then why BA? There are much more sensible things for them to want revenge on.

Leviathan came in the Galactic North. The last time they had a big issue with Marines was Behemoth, in the SouthEast. The last time they saw Marines in the numbers they've been seeing BA were the Ultramarines. So it's not so much the Blood Angels in my opinion, as they recognize this 'breed' of warrior. And because these are red, they can differentiate that they are different from the blue ones, but if the same sort of stock. So, their manifested feeling of revenge is directed at this brood.

Basically saying "I hate you because your brother got me good in the mouth. So I'm taking it out on you." Even though I'm sure there has been some other history between the two faction's. Space Hulk?

Why a Marine faction? Why not Eldar? Eldar have valuable genes like the Marines, they cost the Tyranids a MASSIVE power boost at Valedor and one of them is the person who actually hurt the Hive Mind itself for the first time in millennia. But no, it's Marines.

pm713 wrote:
Why a Marine faction? Why not Eldar? Eldar have valuable genes like the Marines, they cost the Tyranids a MASSIVE power boost at Valedor and one of them is the person who actually hurt the Hive Mind itself for the first time in millennia. But no, it's Marines.

Mostly poor writing in my opinion. A lot of things having to do with the writing of the Tyranids irk me.

I would definitely like to see a neat little xeno vs xeno ark where the Eldar fight the Nids much like on Iyanden, and Valedor. Those are at least more entertaining to me.

Speaking of.... The Short Story they posted about the lone BA golden boi had me wishing Lictors were better represented as CC monsters and Intel gatherers.
Despite that particular characterization, the Hive Mind talk and the swarms of tyranids ignoring the angel infuriates me. What do you mean it would be a waste of resources? They're devouring the planet. Everything will be reclaimed even if he blasts apart a dozen rippers or chops then into mincemeat.

pm713 wrote:
Why a Marine faction? Why not Eldar? Eldar have valuable genes like the Marines, they cost the Tyranids a MASSIVE power boost at Valedor and one of them is the person who actually hurt the Hive Mind itself for the first time in millennia. But no, it's Marines.

Cos its not an actual Campaign its just a thin wrapper around another Marine Supplement....

pm713 wrote:
one of them is the person who actually hurt the Hive Mind itself for the first time in millennia. But no, it's Marines.

I missed this: could you develop further ?

 Mr Morden wrote:

pm713 wrote:
Why a Marine faction? Why not Eldar? Eldar have valuable genes like the Marines, they cost the Tyranids a MASSIVE power boost at Valedor and one of them is the person who actually hurt the Hive Mind itself for the first time in millennia. But no, it's Marines.

Cos its not an actual Campaign its just a thin wrapper around another Marine Supplement....

Or because Marines have to have everything.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 godardc wrote:

pm713 wrote:
one of them is the person who actually hurt the Hive Mind itself for the first time in millennia. But no, it's Marines.

I missed this: could you develop further ?

At the start of the Valedor novel there's a prologue of Yriel grabbing the Spear of Twilight. At the end where he kills the Hive Tyrant leading the swarm it describes the Spear trying to drink the soul of the Tyranid but that's the Hive Mind so what ultimately happens is the Spear can't devour the Hive Mind but it does cause it significant pain which it notes as being a sensation the Hive Mind hasn't felt in millenia.

From what I understand, chaos played a rather large part in that whole devastation thing. Was a little surprised that they weren’t mentioned at all in PA3

Crackedgear wrote:
From what I understand, chaos played a rather large part in that whole devastation thing. Was a little surprised that they weren’t mentioned at all in PA3

Kha-Bandha (the Angel's Bane) and his daemons did, yes.

I don't know how they wrote that lore and nobody said "hold up, that's real dumb".

It was a deus ex machina to save the Blood Angels, because it seems they couldn't think of a quick way to wrap things up or fix the corner they had written themselves into. The Blood Angels and their successors were losing. Sure maybe they could have written Guilliman arriving and then fighting off the Tyranids, but I think they were also at the same time trying to hype up Chaos.

The omission of mentioning the Chaos last minute intervention in Blood of Baal IMO seems to be to keep the focus (or what passes for it for a SM antagonist) on the Tyranids, and maybe it is a tacit acknowledging of the backlash to Chaos suddenly saving the Blood Angels. They sort of did something similar to nudge things after the backlash to the Blood Angels working with the Necrons against the Tyranids to explain it less an actual alliance and more a focusing on a common enemy first.

The Indomitus Crusade rocking up could have been that. It doesn't really hype up Chaos if they do the equivalent of "mwahahahahaa we'll get you next time Blood Angels!".

Honestly the Necron thing seemed to me like they just used the worst possible words to describe what happened from what I remember.

The Chaos thing could have been very interesting if they hadn't, apparently, dumped it and made Guilliman saving them and then the BA saving themselves.

So to clear things up, there are several parts to this of who did saving:

-The galaxy tears in two, the hive fleets in space are destroyed by warp storms. Planetside Nids are still there, however.

-Indomidus crusade shows up and lends aid to the BA on Baal

-One of the moons mysteriously has all of the Tyranids slain and their skulls piled into a giant rune of Khorne

BA were saved by a two-part of warp storms and Guilliman, DoK only cleared off one world that the BA had already lost. IMO it was to send a message "we were here to fight you, but obviously you're busy, we'll come back later."

pm713 wrote:Why a Marine faction? Why not Eldar? Eldar have valuable genes like the Marines, they cost the Tyranids a MASSIVE power boost at Valedor and one of them is the person who actually hurt the Hive Mind itself for the first time in millennia. But no, it's Marines.

You know who has even more valuable genes that the eldar or marines? A PRIMARCH. I think the nids found out about the body of Sangunius and want to eat it to gain the knowledge to create primarch level monsters, the same way tyrant guard come from space marine DNA. Afterall, Sangunius is the only stationary primarch, his body could be won through the kind of attrition warfare the tyrannids excel at, all the other primarchs can run away/be moved too easily.

Darian Aarush wrote:If you read the 'Devastation of Baal', you'll find the Tyranids actually appeared to deliberately target the Red Scar (which is a high risk, low reward area of space) and the Blood Angels/Baal in particular. This raised lots of questions about how intelligent and deliberate the Tyranids were in the Imperium. It's almost as if they wanted revenge against the Blood Angels.

pm713 wrote:
I don't mind the feelings as much as I do that they picked the Blood Angels. Even if we accept the idea that the Tyranids can desire revenge (I don't but ignore that) then why BA? There are much more sensible things for them to want revenge on.

Have the BA even fought nids on a large scale before the Devastation of Baal? And unlike Macragge, Baal is so biomass poor that there is no way they can make back the energy it would take to consume the planet. There must be some larger strategic goal for taking Baal, and the only thing special about the planet is that it is home to Sangunius.

 Eipi10 wrote:

pm713 wrote:Why a Marine faction? Why not Eldar? Eldar have valuable genes like the Marines, they cost the Tyranids a MASSIVE power boost at Valedor and one of them is the person who actually hurt the Hive Mind itself for the first time in millennia. But no, it's Marines.

You know who has even more valuable genes that the eldar or marines? A PRIMARCH. I think the nids found out about the body of Sangunius and want to eat it to gain the knowledge to create primarch level monsters, the same way tyrant guard come from space marine DNA. Afterall, Sangunius is the only stationary primarch, his body could be won through the kind of attrition warfare the tyrannids excel at, all the other primarchs can run away/be moved too easily.

Darian Aarush wrote:If you read the 'Devastation of Baal', you'll find the Tyranids actually appeared to deliberately target the Red Scar (which is a high risk, low reward area of space) and the Blood Angels/Baal in particular. This raised lots of questions about how intelligent and deliberate the Tyranids were in the Imperium. It's almost as if they wanted revenge against the Blood Angels.

pm713 wrote:
I don't mind the feelings as much as I do that they picked the Blood Angels. Even if we accept the idea that the Tyranids can desire revenge (I don't but ignore that) then why BA? There are much more sensible things for them to want revenge on.

Have the BA even fought nids on a large scale before the Devastation of Baal? And unlike Macragge, Baal is so biomass poor that there is no way they can make back the energy it would take to consume the planet. There must be some larger strategic goal for taking Baal, and the only thing special about the planet is that it is home to Sangunius.

It'd be real real real real cool if the 40k fluff where there's a galaxy full of trillions of sentient beings could not entirely center around 12 omnipresent marty stues.

I don't think you're wrong here, I'm just annoyed that I think your fan theory is completely realistic considering GW's recent fluff obsession with the fething primarchs.

There's nothing stopping anyone else from playing their own campaigns in the galaxy of trillions of sentient beings which have nothing to do with the Primarchs.

Who cares what GW focus on?

Anyone who likes reading black library? Focusing on your dudes is all well and good but it's really tiring when the output is marine marine marine marine marine bad eldar book marine marine marine marine marines but with some tau marine marine marine.