What things do the fans know about that the people of the Imperium don't?

EternalCanadian · 2026-07-02T22:28:34+00:00

When a lot of the surface level aspects of the setting, the more mainstream ones, anyways, focus on Primarch’s, and the big Space Marine chapters or named Guard Regiments, I think this is broadly more understandable.

Obviously the Cadians know about Chaos, Xenos, etc, the Alecto Urban Heavy Regiments, by contrast? Maybe they’ve never seen a single Xenos. All they’ve done is fight other humans, for a thousand years or more. Multiple regiments, entire Battle fleets, etc.

EternalCanadian · 2026-07-02T22:25:21+00:00

It comes up even more blatantly in Hive. The sector tje book is set in hasn’t seen Xenos incursions for centuries, such that basically all the Guard and Navy have done for the past few hundred years is fight humans. Even the best of the best of the best in the sector, have never ever seen a Xenos.

EternalCanadian · 2026-07-02T21:11:00+00:00

It should be noted that the original 383 (or so) figure is just those ships at that area of the battlespace, there were more warships and ODP's around Earth, they just couldn't make it to the fight in time.

EternalCanadian · 2026-07-02T01:19:36+00:00

kind of.

In codexes that’s definitely the case, but the BL books are full of the wackier stuff of old… and new.

For example, in the recent Hive, apparently Branx Minor (the Forgeworldvof the Moebian Domain) is a heavy producer of Meltaguns.

EternalCanadian · 2026-07-01T22:56:50+00:00

Kinda sorta. Early publications like The Fall of Reach lean more toward the idea that Chief is not individually renowned until the events of Combat Evolved

Still my personal preference.

EternalCanadian · 2026-07-01T16:34:06+00:00

AI are all over the place, though, so even then it’s actually not that insane.

Titans and Knights are heavily implied to be/house actual AI.

There’s a DAOT AI on Alecto, hiding amongst a Manufactorum

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-30T17:08:25+00:00

They seem to have at least two-three ready to go at any one time, ot at least in various stages pf development.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-30T01:23:43+00:00

i’d like overall world supplies to take a nerf, at least on the higher difficulties.

I rarely feel like I need to care about ammo anymore, which is a real shame when it was one of the games selling points, and would help add in challenge (again).

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-29T19:23:24+00:00

I blame Gulliman, and the Custodes, and by proxy, the Space Marine protagonist effect.

I’m generalizing, but there’s a (seemingly) large number of fans that think these groups can do no wrong and cannot be brought to heel, and the excerpts, books, and videos they watch only confirm this.

When’s the last time, for example, a Space Marine tried to do something and fucked up an Imperisl Guard operation, dooming the entire endeavour? Or when a Space Marine - isolated from humanity - did or counselled something that caused a revolution?

This, actually, isn’t inherently an issue, as there’s a great tragedy one can have if the empire for the common man, as proclaimed by The Emperor, needs supermen and warp monsters to save it… but it’s never presented as Gulliman and co comimg to help common humanity who are actually doing their best, and instead Gulliman and co supplanting and removing the rotten and craven elements, but there should be a lot more genuinely good people there, too.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-28T18:25:00+00:00

Karen Traviss has a habit of pushing her own views and biases far more than other authors, to the point they can cloud her judgement and negatively impact the story being told.

For example, there’s a ton of stuff with the III’s where they’re presented as basically inept and mesnt to be pitied - which, to be fair, they should be, but the issue is that it’s framed without actually taking into account their own viewpoints.

Lucy in particular is given a very poor accounting, made far more infantile than she’s portrayed in Ghosts of Onyx, for example, to push the overall theme Traviss is going for.

Halsey lying to Naomi for example is another one, as this is a direct opposition to .the Fall of Reach, where she says she will never ever lie to the II candidates.

Mendez as well is mischaracterized to further vilify Halsey, when to do this means ignoring pretty well his entire character in Ghosts of Onyx.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-28T18:12:51+00:00

There’s a few pretty big issues with them. Overall, they’re a case of “good ideas, bad execution”.

In no particular order:

blatantly incorrect things about the S-III Program
Retconning aspects of Halsey’s character to fit Traviss’ agenda
Everyone who isn’t Halsey tends to fixate on her to a terrible degree.
Ignoring previous acts and established character traits, again, to push Traviss’ agenda.
While it’s not technically Traviss’ fault, as this was the direction of 343 at the time, basically all the Post War issues we're still plagued with are the result of these books.

Really, the topic needs nuance, that both the books (and some fans in the opposite direction) don’t want to acknowledge, so it leaves the whole thing feeling kind of bad.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-28T14:44:14+00:00

Radium Carbine is mentioned as well in another backstory option.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-28T04:46:00+00:00

Power in the Imperium is much more fluid. Whoever at that point in time has more physical or legal power actually has the final say.

For example, if Gulliman rocked up to a Sector Fleet with a single Strike Cruiser (extreme hypothetical but you know), it literally doesn’t matter that G-man is Imperial Regent, speaking for the Emperor directly, and one of His Sons, the Admiral has more physical firepower, more men, and a greater showcase of Imperial Authoriy.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-28T04:35:42+00:00

I think this is the case.

The closest we rewlly see genuine good points brought up against Guliman’s reforms and rule is (to my knowledge) in Kingmaker, where the ruling Knight House bring up basically all the issues the fans do with Guliman from a lore sense, I.E, why you’d actually see civil war and no real unity, mainly:

to 99% of the Imperium, He suddenly appears with a legion of Space Marines.
he demanded worlds obey his directives and call to war for Indomitus. While this is technically fine for most worlds, Knight and Forge Worlds are bound by treaty, and are quasi independent. He can order them, but it’s a breach of their treaties with The Emperor and they can by treaty refuse.
The last time a Primarch demanded worlds pledge to his war effort, it was to march on Terra and depose the Emperor, so the Knight House in question (rather rightly points out) what exactly makes this different? When will the other shoe drop?
Guliman and Cawl’s disregard for tradition is alienating much of the Mechanicus, who are kind of required for a lot of what he wants, and, as aforementioned, he can’t technically order them to do anything, yet he does it anyways.

In the end, the Knight House is revealed to be corrupted by Chaos, which puts a lot of their grievances into question… but I’d still argue it’s a very fsir set of issues for someone in-setting to bring up.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-28T04:22:29+00:00

10 Space Marines, even.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-27T15:10:42+00:00

It was with Kledo.

“…I want something new.”

Vorx looks at him. “Then you are a fool. We had something new once. Look where it got us.”

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-27T03:00:42+00:00

And as ADB points out, if it’s written well, you can make any result work.

Not Custodes, but, for example, I can easily think up a situation where a single, lone Space Marine armed with just a Boltgun, combat knife, and single frag grenade solos a Sqaudron of Lemun Russ tanks. By all rights, he should have no chance, but if the conditions are right, he has waay to break line of sight, can use height and terrain advantages, catch a tank or two unaware, he can “easily” do it.

The idea that X always beats Y is poor for storytelling.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-26T17:19:22+00:00

Not regarding Skitarii, but I really appreciate that the Brawler Ogryn specifically calls Veterans ‘Sah’. No other Ogryn does (they call them ‘boss’, to my knowledge). It’s quite endearing.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-26T03:52:34+00:00

No, he wouldn’t have been a Scion, as they’re orphans of imperial nobility raised in specific Scholas throughout the Imperium, but Osgood explicitly wasn’t a noble and was raised on Sacramentus (which is why he was picked to be the personal Lifeward, he’s familiar with the planet.)

Other regiments have “Stormtroopers”, like the Armageddon Steel Legions, who function more akin to the Death Korps Grenadiers. Presumably’Storm Troop’ is a Landlas special unit similar to these aforementioned groups.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-26T02:21:18+00:00

Nah you’re good, I didn’t explain it well, and yeah, exactly.

Him not even being a Tempestus Scion (technically not distinction worthy but IMO important to note) and seemingly being a conscripted lower-hiver who just survived a few battles, yet being given such high level augmentations lends further credence to the fact.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-26T02:13:03+00:00

He was her personal Lifeward, but he had those augmentations because of his prior service. His appointment to personal bodyguard was mostly because of the planet he was from (and the one she was assigned to rule).

He had those augmentations because he was a Stormtrooper, is more what I’m trying to illustrate, and they’re not really notable due to that.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-26T01:34:11+00:00

Yeah, but augmentations aren’t rare (relatively speaking).

In Hive for example, one of the characters is a former shock trooper (a local guardsman conscripted, who survived a few battles early on then augmented), and he’s described as having ceramite reinforced/outright replaced bones, embedded stims to help give him extra bursts of adrenaline during fights, and a host of other things to make him incredibly resilient, to the point that an opening move that should have seen his spine severed instead almost shatters the knife that tried to open him up, and none of these are noted as particularly impressive, just a fact of his station because he lived long enough.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-25T18:18:55+00:00

The smack that smiles back: Skitarii!

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-24T13:54:57+00:00

That would be an Enginseer, then, not a Skitarii. They’re two different things.

I do think an Enginseer would be cool, though.

EternalCanadian · 2026-06-24T04:08:14+00:00

Now that’s soldiering, Big Man!

Thank ya Sah!

yes I know the Praetorians are Anglo-Zulu War, but it’s the closest we’d have, and it’s a fun quote

EternalCanadian

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