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How do!

Felt it’s time to refresh this old chestnut. And it’s a discussion that of all the nasty, horrible ways to die in 40K? Which would you most like to avoid?

I’ve thought about this, and where I’d once nominate something really nasty like a Harlequins Kiss turning my insides to soup, I began to consider that many at least mercifully as swift as they are spectacular. Yes you’re about as dead as dead can be, but the weapons are so efficient, you won’t actually know it, as your much too busy being dead already to notice that you’re no longer doing an alive.

So for me, it’s perhaps the more mundane weapons. Stuff like Flamers (it’s not a phobia as such, but when it’s my time, I’d much rather it not be burning to death) or Dark Eldar Splinter weapons seem particularly nasty ways to go. Yet more esoteric (to us at least) stuff like Devourers and even Fleshborers offer exceedingly nasty ways to go. Indeed, I think being eaten to death in one way or another is a pretty primal level of upsetting way to go. Especially Devourers, as those eat their way to your brain. So not just the agony of your ever expanding wound, but the inescapable wriggling under your skin.

My jury is out on Gauss, too. Disintegration certainly seems unpleasant, but if my nerve endings are going at the same rate, does it actually hurt? I’ve lived with nerve damage in my left hand most of my life now (mmm, defenestration. I don’t recommend it) and whilst not being able to feel much is definitely weird? I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily unpleasant. But then again, to see significant parts of you just melt away is gonna be horrible.

Any type of acid attacks is gonna be a hideous way to go, as unlike Gauss their varying efficiency can mean it takes a while to goo you, and you’re screaming, screaming, screaming all the way.

Which leads me back to Tyranids, as a noted exponent of acid based nastiness (gob at you, fart at you, vomit at you). The Barbed Strangler. Sure that seed pod is said to mature in the blink of an eye, but if your bonce has no tendrils erupting, you’ve some period of abject agony and terror. And if you do remain conscious, seeing the thing you just inadvertently birthed tearing your squad mates apart is bad.

So yeah, that’s my early thoughts. Anything instant (Melta, Plasma, Headshot from a Bolter) isn’t going to bother me, as again, I’ll be far, far too dead to notice that I’m now dead. But how about you, Dakka?

Shokk Attack Gun

Sacrificed to the Golden Throne.

I think AdMech Radium weapons at least earn an honorary mention. Not only a nasty way to die if the bullet does not kill you on the spot, but also the shooter doesn't fare that much better.

Also: shot by a Banewulf tank shortly followed by whatever the survivors will do to the Banewolfs crew if they get their hands on them.

Purification either by an inquisitor, or by an Interrogator-chaplain

Nurgles Rot. Slowly debilitates you before devouring your soul itself and turning you into a Plaguebearer

Any of the various poxwalker viruses, even though they don't technically kill you, having an eldritch virus controlling your mutated body while you suffer the worst ever case of locked-in syndrome and are forced to watch your own body kill your loved ones is pretty horrific

There's that story where a planetary governor has his soul extracted and placed in a soulstone which is then given to the Dark Eldar for torture. Arguably worse than physical torture because you aren't allowed to die

I think some of the worst aren't even weapons, per se. For example, being placed into a Helbrute is supposed to be torturous, and you can't get out until you're killed. Some of the more Chaos-aligned Thrones Mechanicum also do very horrible things to their pilots over time.

As for gauss: you might not feel a lot of it as your nerve endings disintegrate, but you certainly seem capable of being conscious long enough to recognize what's happening and experience the sheer terror of knowing how screwed you are.

Swarmed by Rippers sounds like a bad way to go, too.

 BorderCountess wrote:
Swarmed by Rippers sounds like a bad way to go, too.

One of the word Bearers omnibus books had a particularly chilling description of a frigate grabbed and pulled into a Tyranid hive ship during some orbital skirmishing. The book talks about the ship being dissolved in acid and overrun by rippers compartment by compartment as the remaining crew try to to fight/survive.

It was all the horror of being trapped in a submarine slowly filling with water combined with being eaten alive by nids.

Shrieker rounds from a Shuriken Cannon also seem a nasty way to go. All sorts of mutagens and that raging around your body, mucking up your biology until you explode. Though perhaps it’s those standing nearby that get the really nasty end of that transaction, as they’re covered in acidic you.

Anything Tyranid related is a bad way to go.

Unfortunately no factions seem to use double decker busses so there's no heavenly way to die in the 40k universe.

Mind you I bet a charging Carnifex hits like one.

Also loaded into an Ordo Sinister Psi Titan, where your horror and terrible psychic pain is focused into a weapon.

And then you are used as ammunition for the Sinistramanus Tenebrae and then your soul gets a free trip to the warp.

One I would like to avoid is killing Lucius the Eternal. I don't quite fancy my hair falling out and my body slowly distorting and deforming over several days while suffering the most awful agony until all that is left of me is a bodyless face screaming and shrieking in torturous pain for all eternity.

 Adamski Alders wrote:
One I would like to avoid is killing Lucius the Eternal. I don't quite fancy my hair falling out and my body slowly distorting and deforming over several days while suffering the most awful agony until all that is left of me is a bodyless face screaming and shrieking in torturous pain for all eternity.

That's why Lucius can never fight the necrons or tau gun Drones. No joy or satisfaction killing him = no return.

Or Tyranids.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Or Tyranids.

In my mind, Tyranids are happy-go-lucky chaps who are enjoying their nom-nom-nom lifestyle as they Langoliers up the landscape.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 Adamski Alders wrote:
One I would like to avoid is killing Lucius the Eternal. I don't quite fancy my hair falling out and my body slowly distorting and deforming over several days while suffering the most awful agony until all that is left of me is a bodyless face screaming and shrieking in torturous pain for all eternity.

That's why Lucius can never fight the necrons or tau gun Drones. No joy or satisfaction killing him = no return.

I was under the impression that some higher Necrons actually still possessed some semblance of emotion, and so could feel satisfaction. If that were the case, then would Lucius still be able to possess his killer?

 BorderCountess wrote:

 Lathe Biosas wrote:

 Adamski Alders wrote:
One I would like to avoid is killing Lucius the Eternal. I don't quite fancy my hair falling out and my body slowly distorting and deforming over several days while suffering the most awful agony until all that is left of me is a bodyless face screaming and shrieking in torturous pain for all eternity.

That's why Lucius can never fight the necrons or tau gun Drones. No joy or satisfaction killing him = no return.

I was under the impression that some higher Necrons actually still possessed some semblance of emotion, and so could feel satisfaction. If that were the case, then would Lucius still be able to possess his killer?

Or what if the killer was a blank and couldn't be possessed? Or is a Daemon? That'd be a not so fun realization for Lucius... when he pops out in Nurgle's Garden.

Or what if Lucius gets killed by a random artillery gunner… and said gunner dies before the end of the battle?

Slaanesh HAS to be tweaking things in favor of Lucius so that doesn’t happen.

The void spinner super heavy grav tank.

The gun fires monofilament coated in wraithbone parasites and viruses that both slice you up and deconstruct you into you constituent molecules.

Obviously, the Drukhari are the kings of nasty deaths, although they're mostly the kings of making sure you're not allowed to die. One of the most interesting fates I've read about is a Haemonculus who was banished by a rival to a pocket dimension the size of a coffin too small for him. Presumably he'll die of starvation eventually (unless his rival went out of his way to prevent it somehow), but in the meantime he's living a claustrophobe's nightmare.

A Dark Heresy sourcebook mentions the Rite of Setesh, a controversial life-extension procedure offered by a rare few Magos Biologis to extremely wealthy individuals "whose fear of death exceeds their love for humanity" (or something like that). The subject is mummified alive. They also gain a large amount of Insanity Points, so clearly it's the kind of fate many would consider worse than death.

 Lathe Biosas wrote:
Also loaded into an Ordo Sinister Psi Titan, where your horror and terrible psychic pain is focused into a weapon.

And then you are used as ammunition for the Sinistramanus Tenebrae and then your soul gets a free trip to the warp.

I've never heard of the Ordo Sinister. Are they really an Imperial faction? And they knowingly send souls to the Warp? Sounds not just grimdark, but highly heretical.

 JNAProductions wrote:
Or what if Lucius gets killed by a random artillery gunner… and said gunner dies before the end of the battle?

Slaanesh HAS to be tweaking things in favor of Lucius so that doesn’t happen.

Yes, there are actually many ways to kill Lucius without him coming back... They just haven't happened yet. Any kind of suicide attack, like detonating a krak grenade while Lucius is holding you by the throat. Or Lucius making the mistake of ripping someone's head off after they've already mortally wounded him. Or any attack that does not specifically target Lucius (or where the attacker doesn't even realize Lucius was there), like friendly fire, a trap, toxic gas, or a long-range artillery barrage. Or an accident. But that's probably a discussion for another thread.

.

The Ordo Sinister are an Imperial Faction of super evil Titans that will answer only to the Emperor. Not even the Primarchs can give them orders. https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Ordo_Sinister

Please do not post in different colours, its a nightmare to read in different themes. - ingtaer

The various torments conjured up by the Emperor's Children and other Slaanesh-worshipping Chaos Space Marines are often unfathomably torturous. Being twisted into furniture, used to power various musical instruments, things like the Armor of Shrieking Souls, Slaanesh worshippers come up with some of the absolutely worst ways to die.

 ArcaneHorror wrote:
Being twisted into furniture

Don't kinkshame.

In 2nd ed there was a rather nasty description of the shock attack gun teleporting snotlings into someone’s power armour and the snotlings would shred them to peices as they tried to claw their way out the armour.

Also a fate worse than death would be put in stasis in Trazyns museum as all the “exhibits” seem to be fully conscious whilst frozen

Terminators were best with the shokk attack gun. Materialised inside the helmet and drowned them in pee

 Flinty wrote:
Terminators were best with the shokk attack gun. Materialised inside the helmet and drowned them in pee

I always wondered how many snotling carcasses are inside 1000 Sons Rubric Marine armors...

The snotling has nowhere to go and will eventually starve.

I once had a Chaos Lord take two wounds from a daemon weapon and then die from crashing his jump pack into a tree.

Try explaining that one to Khorne.

 Orkeosaurus wrote:
I once had a Chaos Lord take two wounds from a daemon weapon and then die from crashing his jump pack into a tree.

Try explaining that one to Khorne.

One of my Boyz in Gorkamorka once broke his neck hopping out of the Trukk.

::gets idea for new thread::

 Orkeosaurus wrote:
I once had a Chaos Lord take two wounds from a daemon weapon and then die from crashing his jump pack into a tree.

Try explaining that one to Khorne.

In theory, Khorne cares not where the blood comes from.

Though tell that to modern army designers, who appears to have forgotten that tidbit, and assume it must be All Melee, All The Time...

 Dysartes wrote:

 Orkeosaurus wrote:
I once had a Chaos Lord take two wounds from a daemon weapon and then die from crashing his jump pack into a tree.

Try explaining that one to Khorne.

In theory, Khorne cares not where the blood comes from.

Though tell that to modern army designers, who appears to have forgotten that tidbit, and assume it must be All Melee, All The Time...

I've always had the impression that while Khorne doesn't care about the 'who' or 'where' or 'why', he actually has a strong preference for the 'how'...