|
UberJumper posted:Finished Soul Hunter which i thought was awesome. Something i didn't understand was So for the night lords its only been a 100 years since the siege of terra? It's been 100 years or so for this particular warband of Night Lords due to the warp loving them over. The memory of the Heresy is still fresh in their minds but the majority of traitor marines and even other Night Lords don't particularly care about Horus, the Heresy or the Emperor since it has been over 10,000 years for them. The Exalted (who is an abomination to his own men but probably the only person on the ship that is trying to make the best of the situation) sends Vraal to stop Talos and his men from waking up the former captain of the tenth legion who he thinks is going to set them back. In terms of Vraal's death, the Night Lords are a legion composed of self serving murderers and rapists and don't really have the bonds of brotherhood that the other Legions have. Given that their own primarch rejected them, they treat each other as family but they all know that that they're really lovely people so nobody is going to give a poo poo if they die. You kind of find out why the shift in the Exalted's attitude changes in the later books but I don't think it really matters for the story in Soul Hunter. It's clear from the novel that Talos thinks he's onto something and so other Night Lords are drawn towards his beliefs.
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 05:23
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 8, 2024 05:40 |
|
|
Imagine your family is a bunch of self-serving assholes (and worse), but they're all your have in a world that wants you dead. They keep cohesion through a mix of pragmatism and power blocks within the group, as well as a general discouragement of outright betrayal (but confrontation when goals clash is accepted), but even the closest allies rarely hold warm feelings between each other, and they're all so survival-minded they won't force a confrontation unless they feel they can score a decisive win at little cost to themselves.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 11:02
|
|
|
How have the Eldar not been able to re-establish their empire despite 10,000 years passing since the Fall? That's plenty of time to colonize new planets. The Tau have done better in less than that. They could colonize worlds outside the Astronomican's range if they're worried about the Imperium attacking. I understand the Imperium's failure to recover (stupid religious dogma).
Baron Bifford fucked around with this message at 12:38 on Jul 10, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 12:34
|
|
|
Baron Bifford posted:How have the Eldar not been able to re-establish their empire despite 10,000 years passing since the Fall? That's plenty of time to colonize new planets. The Tau have done better in less than that. They could colonize worlds outside the Astronomican's range if they're worried about the Imperium attacking. I understand the Imperium's failure to recover (stupid religious dogma). Because 99% of them died and the rest of them are scattered in craft-worlds across the galaxy.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 13:19
|
|
|
Yes, but that all happened 10,000 years ago. That's ancient history.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 13:59
|
|
|
Baron Bifford posted:How have the Eldar not been able to re-establish their empire despite 10,000 years passing since the Fall? That's plenty of time to colonize new planets. The Tau have done better in less than that. They could colonize worlds outside the Astronomican's range if they're worried about the Imperium attacking. I understand the Imperium's failure to recover (stupid religious dogma). They're all dead and making new Eldar is really hard on account of their goddess of fertility being held captive by Nurgle.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 14:00
|
|
|
Baron Bifford posted:Yes, but that all happened 10,000 years ago. That's ancient history. You could hardly call it ancient history when their empire lasted millions of years, and there are many Eldar alive who were there when The Fall happened. In human terms, it's like if every natural disaster at the same time happened and reduced the current human population to 10,000 people, with the survivors spread out across remote corners of the world in survivalist/luddite colonies, with fertility problems as aftereffects of horrible plagues, then the planet of the apes happens and also intelligent squids that love human flesh come out of the ocean and claim they planned all of it. Fast forward 500 years and ask why humans haven't repopulated back to 7 billion.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 14:21
|
|
|
Also the maiden worlds are a thing, so there are relatively new colonies that exist. Eldar can't just live any old place, though, because the constant pull of Slaanesh eats away at their souls unless they're protected by wraithbone or a world spirit or a similar psychic network.Baron Bifford posted:I understand
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 14:27
|
|
|
Cream_Filling posted:There's really very few published numbers and I think they also tend to change depending on who's presenting it. Keep in mind that the Leman Russ is literally a Standard Template Construct tractor with armor and guns welded onto it. The Baneblade was the MBT of the Dark Age of Technology era human empire, but the STC's for it are incredibly rare compared to the ones for Agricultural Tractor #2309.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 15:40
|
|
|
joneswt posted:Keep in mind that the Leman Russ is literally a Standard Template Construct tractor with armor and guns welded onto it. The Baneblade was the MBT of the Dark Age of Technology era human empire, but the STC's for it are incredibly rare compared to the ones for Agricultural Tractor #2309. CLOSE! The Baneblade was the LIGHT tank of the Dark age of technology. What the heavy tank of the DAoT would look like is unknown, but I always pictured a battleship but on treads.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 16:13
|
|
|
VanSandman posted:CLOSE! The Baneblade was the LIGHT tank of the Dark age of technology. What the heavy tank of the DAoT would look like is unknown, but I always pictured a battleship but on treads.  Also, no perfect STC plans even exist. Even partial first-generation copies are rare. Most of the stuff they do have was reverse-engineered from spare print-outs and instruction manuals or like 4th generation photocopies of a photocopy. It would be funny if the reason the Baneblade is so retardedly huge is actually just because some peon with bad eyesight 14k years ago hit the "scale 150%" button on the photocopier one day. Or just because their partial plans had no scale marker, so they just made it as big as they imagined it would need to be based on current technology and the need to fit Space Marines inside. OXBALLS DOT COM fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Jul 10, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 16:20
|
|
|
Cream_Filling posted:Also the maiden worlds are a thing, so there are relatively new colonies that exist. Eldar can't just live any old place, though, because the constant pull of Slaanesh eats away at their souls unless they're protected by wraithbone or a world spirit or a similar psychic network.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 16:58
|
|
|
Baron Bifford posted:There we go. I knew there was an answer. So, they cannot stray from their Craftworlds or World Spirits for too long? Is it something like what the Dark Eldar face? No, I just made that up to mess with you. Sounds reasonable though.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 17:08
|
|
|
Oh God, I just finished A Thousand Sons. Graham McNeill is a horrible writer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 19:42
|
|
|
I know 40k gets almost all of the attention from GW in general, but I like the Fantasy setting. I got "Knights of Bretonnia" by Anthony Reynolds about a year ago and never made it through the first novel in the omnibus (Knight Errant). While I was pleased Reynolds didn't soften the snobbery of the main character to make him more likeable (the nobles demean the peasants constantly, even after fighting alongside them) and that there was some intrigue going on in the background, it was still 94% mindless hack 'n' slash pulp with pages and pages of charges into hordes of Orks and Beastmen. I recently picked the book back up after hearing the omnibus improves after the first novel, but I am a little skeptical. I just ordered "Tales of the Old World," which is apparently a collection of short stories from the 1980s (I think) that covers all the races in the WHF setting, ranging in quality from the good to the terrible. Sounds a little more appealing, since at least it'll be short stories of bad stuff instead of entire novels of bad stuff. Maybe I'll post a review once I get it. Anyone else read WHF stuff? Apparently there are some more Malus Darkblade books in the works and I've heard some good things about the series, but I've also seen some extremely negative reviews. Gotrek & Felix is also popular, but it seems a little too cartoony for me. I know anything BL puts out is going to be hack 'n' slash pulp, but I'd still rather it be good, creative pulp.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 20:04
|
|
|
I liked the Mathias Thulman Witch Hunter series. Also, Zavant was good, if you like a bit of Sherlock Holmes in your Fantasy.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 20:07
|
|
|
Panama Red posted:I know 40k gets almost all of the attention from GW in general, but I like the Fantasy setting. Read the Swords of the Emperor duology by Chris Wright. They were released as an omnibus last year. Easily the best thing Chris Wraight has done. Another great Chris Wraight WHF book is Luthor Huss, about a warrior priest of Sigmar. There's also an anthology of Dan Abnett WHF stuff called Thunder and Steel which is definitely worth picking up. Mechafunkzilla fucked around with this message at 20:11 on Jul 10, 2013 |
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 20:07
|
|
|
The brettonian short stories in the Hammer and Bolter volume one collection are pretty loving ace - are they part of that collection?
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 20:34
|
|
|
I rewatched the Ultramarines movie and some plot points made no sense. Like the fact that the characters all act like green recruits. Didn't they do a stint as Scout Initiates before becoming Battle Brothers?
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 21:22
|
|
|
Baron Bifford posted:I rewatched the Ultramarines movie and some plot points made no sense. Like the fact that the characters all act like green recruits. Didn't they do a stint as Scout Initiates before becoming Battle Brothers? It's a bad movie/nobody cares
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 21:28
|
|
|
But wasn't it written by everyone's favorite author, Dan Abnett?
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 21:30
|
|
|
Baron Bifford posted:But wasn't it written by everyone's favorite author, Dan Abnett? Mechafunkzilla posted:nobody cares
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 21:30
|
|
|
His book series is in the title!
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 21:33
|
|
|
Baron Bifford posted:His book series is in the title! Warhammer?
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 21:39
|
|
|
Cream_Filling posted:Warhammer? That would be Dan Abnett's epic series of novels, "Movie"
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 22:00
|
|
|
Baron Bifford posted:I rewatched the Ultramarines movie and some plot points made no sense. Like the fact that the characters all act like green recruits. Didn't they do a stint as Scout Initiates before becoming Battle Brothers? The only good thing about that film, other than being fertile ground for jokes about checking for taint, is that the plot resolution device is literally an 'in case of emergency break glass' hammer.
|
|
#
?
Jul 10, 2013 22:20
|
|
|
Panama Red posted:I know anything BL puts out is going to be hack 'n' slash pulp, but I'd still rather it be good, creative pulp.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2013 00:21
|
|
|
Baron Bifford posted:There we go. I knew there was an answer. So, they cannot stray from their Craftworlds or World Spirits for too long? Is it something like what the Dark Eldar face? Also, you need to remember that all the Eldar that survived The Fall were of a very conservative bent that predicted the decadence and hubris of their race's current path would lead them to destruction. Most Eldar have accepted their race's inevitable doom, so they are more concerned with preserving what they have remaining, which is paltry considering the insane heights their race once occupied. Not to mention that most of their empire lies in the Eye of Terror, and humanity kind of blasted on the scene in a big way right on the coat tails of their fall. They neither have the numbers or the mindset required to be great conquerors again, and are fully prepared to fade into history.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2013 03:28
|
|
|
Basically they're all that guy who'd rather say "I told you so" than help bandage your face after you did something really dumb. Which he told you was dumb.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2013 03:46
|
|
|
Baron Bifford posted:Oh God, I just finished A Thousand Sons. Graham McNeill is a horrible writer. Angel Exterminatus will redeem him slightly in your eyes, but then you'll be mad about Fulgrim all over again.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2013 05:06
|
|
|
Potooweet posted:Angel Exterminatus will redeem him slightly in your eyes, but then you'll be mad about Fulgrim all over again. I liked all those books.  They were hardly my favorites but what, really, was so bad about them?
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2013 11:29
|
|
|
The book about inquisitor czevak is great so far. Rob sanders is a good writer. Any other recommended works out of him?
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2013 12:09
|
|
|
Mikojan posted:The book about inquisitor czevak is great so far. Rob sanders is a good writer. Any other recommended works out of him? Legion of the Damned is a decent SMB book, and his short story The Long Games at Carcharias is quite good.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2013 12:28
|
|
|
VanSandman posted:I liked all those books. Yeah, I don't get the hate for Graham McNeill. I find some of his work boring (Ultramarines), but I liked A Thousand Sons and thougt Fulgrim was refreshingly different. Admittedly "The Mirrod Crack'd" was goddam awful
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2013 14:09
|
|
|
VanSandman posted:I liked all those books.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2013 14:23
|
|
|
Arquinsiel posted:You need to get your hands on the Genevive series. It's really awesome pulpy 80's vampire horror. I second this, I usually have a hard time enjoy anything with vampires but these I greatly enjoyed. Although I still need to finish the omnibus. But I have enjoyed what I've read of it so far though.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2013 14:28
|
|
|
Baron Bifford posted:One thing that annoys me is the ridiculous ways the author tries to play up the divinity of the Emperor and the Primarchs. It's hammy and obtrusive. I can see how it can feel old after a while, but I actually find myself getting annoyed when Primarchs and the Emperor DON'T get written as almost mythical beings. Part of the lore for me is the fact that laying eyes on a primarch is a life changing experience. Grown men have wept in their presence, etc. I love the scenes in Nikea and Ulanor, where having so many primarchs around with the Emperor is a massive, galaxy shaking event. There's that scene early in Horus Rising where Loken is advise to avoid looking into Horus' eyes when he meets him because he'll lose his concentration. Fulgrim should be impossibly perfect, Horus should be regal and inspire loyalty, Kurze should reduce you to a quivering wreck, Sanguinious should make you question your sexuality and so on. Then you get a book like Descent of Angels where The Lion is a big sulking lummox and a fourteen yearold boy is able to walk and talk with him like he's his football hero and not a god made flesh.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2013 16:51
|
|
|
Absurdly I actually liked descent of angels but the descriptions of the lion did annoy me somewhat. Its a shame that the writers could not work more together more closely or had some pretty strict guidelines on how they should write about certain things.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2013 17:48
|
|
|
^^^^ Yeah I liked it because it was a change of pace from the rest of the series.Dog_Meat posted:I can see how it can feel old after a while, but I actually find myself getting annoyed when Primarchs and the Emperor DON'T get written as almost mythical beings. Part of the lore for me is the fact that laying eyes on a primarch is a life changing experience. Grown men have wept in their presence, etc. I love the scenes in Nikea and Ulanor, where having so many primarchs around with the Emperor is a massive, galaxy shaking event. I agree for the most part. Except for Alpharius/Omegon. You shouldn't be able to tell with them. Also the Lion as a big sulking lummox is ok with me because I think it's funny to have one primarch be autistic.
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2013 17:51
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 8, 2024 05:40 |
|
|
Johnson is the gooniest primarch. Although it makes you wonder what kind of 4chan monstrosities the missing primarchs must have been. "Oh throne, he's a furry! Sigh... Send in Russ" "Is...is that wise?" I HATED Descent of Angels and thought Fallen Angels was 'meh', but I re-read them both recently and Descent was a lot better second time round. Once you prepare yourself for a story that isn't like the rest of the heresy it actually works pretty well. I was still dissapointed in The Lion though, and when you know that a single astartes is a one man army it's hard to reconcile the character in the books as an equal brother of a guy who holds off an entire army at the Infinity Gate and breaks a bloodthirster's spine. The introduction of Alpharius/Omega was cool as it goes towards explaining why Alpharius was the physically smallest of the primarchs. I loved Legion, but still raised an eyebrow where Alpharius (or Omegon) gets caught with a sword strike from a HUMAN Lucifer Black in a one on one fight. I know the Lucifer Blacks are some of the toughest warriors in the galaxy, but a single human shouldn't be able to blink before a primarch can rip him apart. In fact, I always wondered how exactly Angron could possibly be a gladiator? In After De'shea he recalls people asking him to let himself get at least cut, but how is having a primarch gladiator any more entertaining than throwing a baby to a lion? Throwing an entire legion of armoured, sword wielding soldiers at him should end up looking like a bloodier, more dismembery version of the "Are you not entertained?!" scene from Gladiator. Actually, I think I just answered my own question
|
|
#
?
Jul 11, 2013 19:13
|
|