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Mechafunkzilla posted:He isn't "actually" anything. It's whatever a given author wants it to be. Are there any good books that explicitly treat him as just a mummy strapped to a space lighthouse? Everything I've read so far either doesn't touch on the emperor at all(Eisenhorn/Ravenor), makes it seem pretty clear that he's Warhammer Jesus(Gaunt's Ghosts/The HH books so far), or is from the POV of traitor marines who hate the guy(Night Lords.)
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Jan 18, 2017 07:33
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He's pretty physically inacessible so there's basically no real way to work him directly into a story without either being a Heresy story or involving the kind of shenanigans that results in breakdancing dreadnoughts.
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Jan 18, 2017 07:40
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Yeah, apart from the physical issue of anyone wanting to get into the throne room having to bypass two titans and the entirety of the Adeptus Custodes, he just doesn't do much of anything, physically, in his state of semi-stasis. Occasionally he cries.
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Jan 18, 2017 07:44
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Also the minds of sapient beings shape the warp, so he's pretty much a minor God.
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Jan 18, 2017 08:06
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Sometimes he complains and has his custodes captain give him and his pet centurion updates on current events.
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Jan 18, 2017 08:21
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Arquinsiel posted:He's pretty physically inacessible so there's basically no real way to work him directly into a story without either being a Heresy story or involving the kind of shenanigans that results in breakdancing dreadnoughts. Please tell me that was an Ocean's 12 reference.
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Jan 18, 2017 10:42
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Big E is whatever you want him to be. In the Gaunt's Ghosts the Emperor is often attributed various abilities that can all be loosely explained by technology or psykers (a wizard did it). An example: The Saint reincarnates on Herodor after many omens and portends show the faithful that she will reincarnate on Herodor. Pilgrims flock there and in a moment of extreme stress and horror for the pilgrims and the defenders there, she manifests in the body of a young girl and gains all the powers of the fabled Saint. Because the warp is shaped by the thoughts of sapient beings and humanity is increasingly more warp sensitive this phenomenon could be said to be a direct consequence of that and not any divine being. Faith being just a focusing lens for all those charged thoughts of thousands of faithful on the planet and millions more across the sector, affecting the warp with their thoughts.
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Jan 18, 2017 12:13
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Draco talks to Big E and it has never been explicitly said to be not canon Also there is a really cool short story somewhere online of a psyker on a black ship being taken to the Golden Throne and made part of the choir and the Emperor is all like CONSUME SURVIVE CONSUME SURVIVE it was p metal
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Jan 18, 2017 14:43
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There is that cool scene in the Abaddon book where what can best be described as a Greater Daemon of the Emperor appears on a CSM ship to yell at them.
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Jan 18, 2017 14:49
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Mr.48 posted:Please tell me that was an Ocean's 12 reference. Nope, a dreadnought literally dances in one of the Eisenhorn/Ravenor books.
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Jan 18, 2017 15:42
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bango skank posted:Are there any good books that explicitly treat him as just a mummy strapped to a space lighthouse? Everything I've read so far either doesn't touch on the emperor at all(Eisenhorn/Ravenor), makes it seem pretty clear that he's Warhammer Jesus(Gaunt's Ghosts/The HH books so far), or is from the POV of traitor marines who hate the guy(Night Lords.) Master of Mankind features the Emperor when he's still alive, still chatty. Gives you more of a perspective of who he was but not quite what he was and now is in the setting.
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Jan 18, 2017 17:30
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HerpicleOmnicron5 posted:Master of Mankind features the Emperor when he's still alive, still chatty. Gives you more of a perspective of who he was but not quite what he was and now is in the setting. I'm halfway through it but man, big E is kind of a dick. Like pragmatic to the point of being kind of a sociopath.
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Jan 18, 2017 17:36
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Given the stakes and the stated goal, I think that would be a necessary trait. On the timescale he is working at, being a sociopath would be a massive bonus for the sake of your own sanity. Although my reading of it was that he's less unfeeling than he claims. Quite apart from anything else, he made the 10,000 to be immortal companions, which speaks of a need for connection on some level. I found the Emperor much more human in his inhumanity after reading that book.
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Jan 18, 2017 17:43
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SRM posted:I'm halfway through it but man, big E is kind of a dick. Like pragmatic to the point of being kind of a sociopath. That's kind of the point though isn't it? I thought the passages were he talked about his ambition and the custodian interpreted it as pride and hubris laid it on a bit thick but the concept was pretty interesting like here's a man who has decided despite everything else that has happened this is what Humanity needs to make it happen. I also really enjoyed his analogy for telling the future and regards to climbing the mountain or crossing the ocean despite being a bit heavy-handed
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Jan 18, 2017 18:42
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I think it's completely justified since he has the entire human race on his shoulders, but it definitely makes for a grim character. I'm not complaining at all - I actually find it pretty compelling.
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Jan 18, 2017 19:10
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SRM posted:CL Werner yeah i read the iron warriors one. its bad in ton of ways apart from a few interesting deaths.
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Jan 18, 2017 19:10
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Dapper_Swindler posted:its bad in ton of ways apart from a few interesting deaths.
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Jan 18, 2017 19:13
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The whole psycher sacrifice thing in MoM made me wonder if the emperor is really truly dead or at least his corpse isn't actually doing anything in 40k. Like apparently all you need is the psychers and everyone just assumes big E is doing something useful?
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Jan 18, 2017 19:46
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He does a bit of crying in the Beast Arises series He might just be leaking though
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Jan 18, 2017 19:56
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If you want to make an ommlet you have to break a few eggs. If you want to create a race of gold clad uber menchen free from chaos you have to murder a few trillion people.
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Jan 18, 2017 20:13
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Moose-Alini posted:The whole psycher sacrifice thing in MoM made me wonder if the emperor is really truly dead or at least his corpse isn't actually doing anything in 40k. Like apparently all you need is the psychers and everyone just assumes big E is doing something useful? The throne was never meant for the Emperor long-term. It was meant for Magnus, he would act as the power source for the Astronomican, and (this is my theory) as a security system inside the webway. The capability to burn psychers for power was obviously a plan B in the event that Magnus had to leave the throne. It's entirely possible that the adaptations the Emperor made after his injury have nothing to do with the function of the beacon itself, and it would continue to broadcast without him there. But, while it keeps him alive his warp presence is free to act, and we have it as canon that he is gathering loyal souls to himself in the warp. So he's definitely doing something.
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Jan 18, 2017 20:14
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The emperor since still lives since somewhere in the fluff it talks about how they use his bodily secretions to make holy hand grenades E: okay maybe they are getting it from his decomposing body, which I guess is more lame and grimdark. I thought at first it was from his poop and that this was all a "holy hand grenade" Monty Python reference 40k Wikia posted:The Adeptus Custodes reverently gather the dust that forms from the body of the Emperor of Man where he is entombed in the Golden Throne. This byproduct of the Golden Throne's arcane workings possesses a strong anti-psychic charge and can produce an effect in psykers and Warp entities similar to those produced by a psychic Blank, a being afflicted with the Pariah Gene. Hot Dog Day #82 fucked around with this message at 21:15 on Jan 18, 2017 |
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Jan 18, 2017 21:10
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Lovely Joe Stalin posted:...But, while it keeps him alive his warp presence is free to act, and we have it as canon that he is gathering loyal souls to himself in the warp. So he's definitely doing something. Do you remember the source for this? I'd like to read up on it.
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Jan 18, 2017 21:58
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The end of one of the better books. I don't remember the name.
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Jan 18, 2017 22:22
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In the old rule book, exact page I can't remember, there is reference that the tears of the emperor are shed when Spacemarines fall in battle, however small (they are collected by attendants). They also mentioned that only in massive battles do the emperor openly weep. Regardless, I think one of the most compelling stories is the conflict on what to do with the emperor, specifically on whether they should disconnect him. Some argue that his current state is a prison, and that by letting him die his spirit will be released and reborn. These are also considered near traitors in the Imperium, but I think the idea that the power of the emperor is unknown and people are too scared to let go of the hope provided by machines (a reference to the Machine spirit religion of Mars).
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Jan 19, 2017 02:13
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Finally finishing up the Eisenhorn trilogy. I found Xenos to be the best book of the three. Not sure what to start next--I have the Ravenor books, the Night Lords trilogy, and I picked up The Talon of Horus. Any advice?
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Jan 19, 2017 02:24
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Robot Wendigo posted:Finally finishing up the Eisenhorn trilogy. I found Xenos to be the best book of the three. Not sure what to start next--I have the Ravenor books, the Night Lords trilogy, and I picked up The Talon of Horus. Any advice? You don't seem to need advice, you've made all good decisions so far.
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Jan 19, 2017 02:27
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Robot Wendigo posted:Finally finishing up the Eisenhorn trilogy. I found Xenos to be the best book of the three. Not sure what to start next--I have the Ravenor books, the Night Lords trilogy, and I picked up The Talon of Horus. Any advice? Night Lords may be a little tough to get into, but Ravenor is a great place to go after Eisenhorn. If you want so good bolter porn, Battle of the Fang and Wrath of Iron by Chris Wraight are good as well.
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Jan 19, 2017 02:34
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Alternative pants posted:Night Lords may be a little tough to get into, but Ravenor is a great place to go after Eisenhorn. If you want so good bolter porn, Battle of the Fang and Wrath of Iron by Chris Wraight are good as well. Thank you. Ravenor it is!
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Jan 19, 2017 02:39
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15 hours, by Mitchel Scanlon, is also a good book to read if you want a story that focuses on what it's like to be a generic guardsman. I'm not familiar with the authors other work, but I've always been a fan of what the 40k world is like for regular humans and 15 hours scratches the itch well.
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Jan 19, 2017 03:36
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One of the Gray Knights codices mentions the fact that there is a box on Titan in the GK fortress monastery that is marked with the same sigils as the Golden Throne itself. Precisely what it does, nobody knows, but the right to use it is granted to the Grand Master of the Gray Knights should it ever appear that humanity is about to fall.
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Jan 19, 2017 05:58
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Biaga posted:In the old rule book, exact page I can't remember, there is reference that the tears of the emperor are shed when Spacemarines fall in battle, however small (they are collected by attendants). They also mentioned that only in massive battles do the emperor openly weep. It's in lots of them. They put the tears into psycannon rounds.
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Jan 19, 2017 06:34
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Lol at just how hard Dorn owns Alpharius in Praetorian of Dorn.
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Jan 19, 2017 07:07
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Moose-Alini posted:The whole psycher sacrifice thing in MoM made me wonder if the emperor is really truly dead or at least his corpse isn't actually doing anything in 40k. Like apparently all you need is the psychers and everyone just assumes big E is doing something useful? I've always loved the idea that the continuing psyker sacrifice is the pyre that keeps the astronomicon alight. That used to be a totally valid interpretation and for a while it even seemed like that was the favored interpretation. They've stepped back from that, unfortunately. I haven't read MoM yet but that seems a lot more grimdark than the heroic vision that seems to be presented in that book as "grimdark".
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Jan 19, 2017 09:22
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There are two elements to the astronomicon. One is the Emperor himself, sitting stationary on Terra being a big glowly ball of glowy psychic energy that's nice and stationary. The other is the choir, which in some way magically focuses the Emperor's glowyness into a useful form for warp navigation. Being part of the choir is hard, and it burns your brain out. The choir needs regular replacing. The Emperor apparently needs to be fed ground up psykers to not die, in what I consider a design flaw in a life support machine.
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Jan 19, 2017 09:44
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Arquinsiel posted:It's in lots of them. They put the tears into psycannon rounds. No it's poop
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Jan 19, 2017 10:38
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Arquinsiel posted:There are two elements to the astronomicon. Yeah this is how it's explained and what people in 40k believe. In MoM they do the first choir sacrifice. Presumably the astronomicon has been going way before this time as the Heresy is well on. The choir allows Emp to leave the Throne, and everything keeps working because of the psykers. So apparently you don't even need big E on the Throne with the choir going...
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Jan 19, 2017 14:35
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Arcsquad12 posted:No it's poop Ian Watson, is that you?
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Jan 19, 2017 14:55
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Alternative pants posted:Ian Watson, is that you? ~*Anal Leakage*~
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Jan 19, 2017 15:06
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Moose-Alini posted:Yeah this is how it's explained and what people in 40k believe. Even before the Heresy, while the Emperor was out and about during the Great Crusade, he was able to remotely generate the Astronomicon regardless of where he is. How he's able to do so remotely hasn't been talked about anywhere in the books, as far as I'm aware.
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Jan 19, 2017 16:49
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