Godfall

transmechanicus

“I love the idea of dead gods. Not in the sense of “hey i killed something supernaturally strong” but in the sense of “i killed it and it’s still a god.” It is still worshipped. prayers are still answered. miracles are performed in its name, even as it lies pierced by a thousand swords and burning with chemical fire. even as it drifts through vacuum, decapitated and bleeding molten rock. in cosmic spite of being shot through each eye and hurled into a plasma reactor, it still radiates the power of the divine in a way that primitive death cannot smother. the nature of godchild is not so simple as to be tied to the mortality, or immortality, of any living being.”

From <https://www.tumblr.com/neue_web/iframe/reblog/684581909981986816/Tn58UZEJ>

(derived from a comment to that post)

A whale fall occurs when the carcass of a whale has fallen onto the ocean floor at a depth greater than 1,000 m (3,300 ft), in the bathyal or abyssal zones. On the sea floor, these carcasses can create complex localized ecosystems that supply sustenance to deep-sea organisms for decades. This is unlike in shallower waters, where a whale carcass will be consumed by scavengers over a relatively short period of time. Whale falls were first observed in the late 1970s with the development of deep-sea robotic exploration. Since then, several natural and experimental whale falls have been monitored through the use of observations from submersibles and remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) in order to understand patterns of ecological succession on the deep seafloor.

Deep sea whale falls are thought to be hotspots of adaptive radiation for specialized fauna. Organisms that have been observed at deep-sea whale fall sites include octopus, giant isopods, squat lobsters, polychaetes, prawns, shrimp, lobsters, hagfish, Osedax, crabs, sea cucumbers, and sleeper sharks. New species have been discovered, including some potentially specializing in whale falls. It has been postulated that whale falls generate biodiversity by providing evolutionary stepping stones for multiple lineages to move and adapt to new environmentally-challenging habitats. Researchers estimate that 690,000 carcasses/skeletons of the nine largest whale species are in one of the four stages of succession at any one time. This estimate implies an average spacing of 12 km (7.5 mi) and as little as 5 km (3.1 mi) along migration routes. They hypothesize that this distance is short enough to allow larvae to disperse/migrate from one to another.

(more)

From <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whale_fall>

Which Imperium is Lost?

I’ve been spending a fair amount of time thinking about ProtoTraveller, as well as my idea of the “Lost Imperium” setting actually being a Traveler game rather than a Dark Heresy game. Another interesting spin that combines that idea with the canon Traveller universe would be a similar  “trip over a Ancient’s trapdoor” during either the Civil War or the Psionic Suppressions.

It doesn’t quite answer the question though – an full-sized WH40K Expeditionary Fleet of the Great Crusade had enough people to found a empire. Whatever it is that meant to escaped from the Traveller universe wouldn’t be nearly so big (ok, I suppose I could posit some other weird Jump Space effect hat simply captures a bunch of ships all at one time or something).

Just something I ponder while I wait for the D&D 5e game to come about!

D.

Wow! On an entirely different note…

I had the insight that my “Lost Imperium” idea for an alternate Dark Heresy game would also make a fantastic Traveller campaign – especially with the Mongoose rules that have all sorts of pointers towards the WH40K setting. I’m kind of amazed that I never seriously considered it. I spent so much time wrestling with the question of how to “fix” the Imperium to get an ATU that I could live with I never realized that all of the elements I was looking for are pretty much already present:

Imperial Nobility, Interstellar Trade, Stellar Empires, Alien Races, Psionics, High Tech, Low Tech, Lost Tech, “Ancients”, Cybertech, Lost Colonies, New Colonies, Interstellar Wars, Powered Armor, Imperial Agents, etc. etc. etc.

Really, it’s all a pretty nifty fit in a good many ways – the only clear boggle I can see is the basic (and somewhat fundamental) lack of Adventurer-class ships – unless of course I posited a change in the tech (and I could do that if I wanted I suppose).

I mean, yes, it’s a radical re-envisioning of a Traveller setting, but not as radical as someone who prefers a Proto-Traveller setting instead of the fully-fledged OTU from the height of the GDW era. I was never a huge fan of the Rebellion, enjoyed the old Paranoia Press and Judges Guild versions of the (then) ATU, even the last bits of the Classic Traveller OTU were pretty enjoyable – but the Rebellion was kind of “meh”… I actually enjoyed Hard Times more than the Rebellion and that is pretty darn sad when you think about it.

(Yes, I thought TNE was an abomination just like everyone else. Bad system, worse setting…)

Now, I’m enjoying the heck out of 5e right now and no desire to switch games any time soon, but this is kind of nice to have in my hip pocket. I always run better games when I can let my brain gnaw at an entirely different setting and system.

TTFN!

D.

Lost Imperium V – Inspiration

I had mentioned that watching the movie Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters had been inspiration for the setting but it is worth noting that there are a series of other sources that provide equally fertile ground to sow for content beyond the general corpus of the existing WH40K canon and quasi-canon. Just casting my mind out, another source of ideas might be the Riddick movies – there is a definite mix of science and mysticism there that might be fun.

I’ve always found Frank Herbert’s Dune series to be a great inspiration. It is worth noting that the 40K setting has also drawn on this source for at least some ideas – the Navigators being a prime example. And if there was a more directed slant that I could take it would be in this direction I suppose – not just the Frank Herbert books but the other canon written by his son and others. If nothing else because of how it handles a certain anti-technology attitude (particularly towards computers and cybernetics) that is replicated somewhat in the canon WH40K setting.

While I’m not sure exactly what I would take from the setting, Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover setting is explicitly a “lost colony” setting that mixes sci-fi and fantasy tropes in a very similar manner to WH40k. The same could be said for Andre Norton’s Witch World series, and I have to suspect that her “Free Traders” provided at least a bit inspiration for the “Rogue Traders” of WH40K. I could also poke at E.E. ‘Doc’ Smith’s Lensmen for some ideas as well.

I’m kind of struck that these are all pretty “classic” speculative fiction writers.

More recently in genre I’d be looking at Steampunk for some ideas – again in how things like cybernetics would be handled, as well as fashion and attitude. Plus, something which is trying to look at things at the “height of Empire” rather than the decadence of a fallen or dying one. That said, I was watching Spartacus today (the TV show) and could certainly see a place for the bloodsports as an illustration of the sort of ruthless brutality that even the Lost Imperium could display. While not Steampunk in the slightest, Susan R. Matthews scifi Judiciary novels also provide a good example of the sort of ruthless legal code that might be evident.

 

Lost Imperium IV – Sensei

So, I played WH40K way back in the day and one of the things that I loved and at this point is of only questionable canonicity is the Sensei – the sons of the Emperor.

It was the somewhat reasonable idea that for the essentially immortal Emperor ( the “New Man” or alternately Adam Kadmon if you prefer) has sired children over the ages who are also personifications of order and themselves immortal – and who also play a potential part in the saving of humanity from the Ruinous Powers.

Now, I think that it is somewhat hard to believe that the Emperor is not (or was not) aware of these individuals. I am also not sold on the idea that they are all male, that makes no sense to me, but well get there in a bit. But I can certainly buy the idea that they are essentially unknown in the current climate of the canon Imperium and that the Emperor would want to keep their existence under wraps for some arcane reason – he certainly played the long game.

So what if the stand-in for the Emperor in the Lost Imperium is one of his children? This could also be a reason to keep the Lost Imperium a more healthy and dynamic setting. No Horus Heresy means no lich-Emperor, Sensei are also immortal so this Sensei could have ruled this setting for the entire time and thus keeping the sense of the “eternal Emperor” that is important to the setting.

So that is settled, one key point for this setting is that the individual ruling it is a legitimate inheritor of the mantle (if not the title) of the Emperor – one of his children, the Sensei. What could be interesting is if we made this person female rather than male. One of the things that has always bothered me about the entire Warhammer series of games (Fantasy and 40K) is how male-centric they are – though with a genesis in 80’s era Thatcher-dominated England this is somewhat unsurprising I suppose.

But the Lost Imperium actually allows for a different take on the tropes and elements of the setting and one with hopefully a bit more balance regarding gender, etc. How exactly to make this work, along with the preserving the Imperial Cult is going to be an interesting nut to crack, but it should be fun to logic it out.

Lost Imperium III – Enuncia

Enuncia, from the Dan Abnett works, is a “language of magic” and is (broadly) a trope of the entire speculative fiction genre. In the books there is a suggestion that it is Chaos-related but I would argue that it would (by virtue of how language and cognition actually works) that is actually the opposite – a thing of Order but one as pervertable as a bolter or a cogitator.

As such I also think it would be a rather interesting extra piece of the puzzle for the Lost Imperium and how it works. The use of Enuncia, a language that be studied and mastered, fits almost better into the Imperial Truth than psykers fit into the Imperial Creed. So perhaps we could posit that while psykers still exist they are those that operate under the auspices of the witchcraft and sorcery of the Ruinous Powers while the Lost Imperium itself use Enuncia as a method of harnessing the “operating code of the universe” for the benefit of Mankind.

It is probably worth noting that the “Lost Imperium” would be considered hopeless heretics by the Imperium of Man in the Milky Way…

Lost Imperium II

One of the big questions to figure out if this is a classic “alternate timeline” where the Horus Hersey never happened or if it is happening concurrently with the existing WH40K someplace else – or if it somehow takes place within the canon WH40K universe but in a different time. This is actually possible because the Immaterium does do funny things with time and if we are postulating some of lost colony this is a somewhat viable idea.

Location in place is a bit more problematic for a couple of reasons. As written the setting of WH40K basically covers the entirety of the Milky Way Galaxy. So the idea that there is another large, “uncontaminated” human empire is somewhat of a no-go – so that leaves open the idea of placing the “Lost Imperium” in another galaxy and there is an interesting question as to if the Immaterium would actually exist in another galaxy given that it is the Sea of Souls.

Plus, we want to have a universe with as many of the familiar tropes as possible. I want a universe with some version of Eldar for example – though I don’t exactly care about the Tau or the Orks or some of the other races unless there was a really good reason. but if we place this in another galaxy we also have to come up with an explanation of why and how they are there also.

But, it could argued that at some point during the War in Heaven with the C’tan the Old Ones created a “back door” or some sort of escape route to another galaxy. This is also somewhat reasonable, and could explain why there are some very similar races. Also, the existence of the Tyranids proves that there is extra-galactic life out there – and they don’t seem to be soulless in the same manner as Necrons and this suggestive of an Immaterium elsewhere.

But that seems like a decent idea. Somehow, during the Great Crusade some large group of humans tripped over a Old One escape hatch left over from the War in Heaven and ended up in another galaxy – and perhaps one that was also seeded to some degree by the Old Ones with some of the proto-Eldar and perhaps other races that they created. The timeline is concurrent with the canon setting, but in some other galaxy far removed from the Terra.

Lost Imperium I

In examining the idea of creating a different vision of the Imperium of WH40K, the interesting thing is that most of the institutions of the Imperium have the genesis at it’s beginning and either remain relatively unchanged or were twisted by events of the Horus Heresy and the long period of survival since.

The Council of Terra evolved from the War Council of Great Crusade and eventually evolved further into Senatorum Imperialis (the High Lords of Terra). The Adeptus Astronomica, the Adeptus Astra Telepathica, the Adeptus Administratum, the Officio Assassinorum, the Warrants of Trade of the Rogue Traders and the Navis Nobilite all certainly date back to this time. The Imperial Army devolved into the Imperial Navy and the Imperial Guard, while the Thunder Warriors of the Wars of Unification were supplanted by the Grey Legions which then became the Adeptus Astartes Legions led by the Primarchs and were  then divided into the Space Marine Chapters post-Rebellion.

The Adeptus Mechanicus certainly existed at this point but it is arguably going to have a somewhat different version of the Cult Mechanicus given the lack of devolution and the influence of the Imperial Creed upon the tenants of the Sixteen Universal Laws and the worship of the Omnimessiah.

The Imperial Truth and the role of the Iterators was jettisoned for the Imperial Creed and Cult along with the rise of the Adeptus Ministorum. It is likely that some form of the Inquisition existed in this time period as well – certainly things like the Black Ships did, so some sort of mechanism similar to at least the Inquisition had to have existed – plus something which would have been an intelligence network (though these likely have their genesis in the immediate lead-up to the Rebellion). Things which most certainly didn’t exist are the Adeptus Ministorum as well as (somewhat obviously) the Adeptus Sororitas. Finally, the role of the Legio Custodes was significantly different in that era.

There are also a few things that would have to be resolved – is this an alternate timeline? Or is it, and this is the idea which I have, is there just a transplanted set of elements into some other part of the galaxy that have survived and prospered without the baggage of the Horus Heresy?

If that is the case there are a series of questions or issues that would need to be resolved or addressed to maintain the general “sense of place”.

• The Astronominicon
• Space Marines
• The Imperial Cult
• The Ruinous Powers
• The Xenos
• The Ritual of Soul-Binding

Interestingly, there are a number of elements that would perhaps help resolve some of these issues. There is original plan for the Golden Throne and the Eldar Webway, the two lost Space Marine Legions from the First Founding, the Expeditionary Fleets of the Great Crusade, the Sensei, the Old Ones and the truth behind the Necrons and the C’tan, plus the existence of things like the Jericho Maw Warp Gate that make such an alternate setting possible, not to mention the existence of the Jokaero. Even the existence of not just the Eldar Craft Worlds, but the Exodites and the Dark Eldar (and the Harlequins) point towards the possibility of another version of the Eldar surviving the Fall.

All of this makes for a relatively intriguing potential collection of elements and mysteries for the proto-setting.

Long time no see…

Yeah, life did get pretty crazy there for a bit. I don’t think it has really gotten any less crazy, but at this point I’m starting to acclimate…

The AD&D game is on hold, after the switch to the new setting we had a great time starting the Slaver series, pretty much trouncing through A1. But due to the chaos I was basically burned out and when my spouse was ready to take over running a “Cybertraveller” (Cyberpunk 2020 and Traveller mashup) game we had an extra bit of chaos thrown into the works and we had to cancel that plus pretty much all formal group gaming.

For the last few weeks my son and I have been playing in our shared Dark Heresy game. Itself a bit of mashup because it has been combined with the rest of the FFE WH40K games. It is just my son and myself because my spouse and our friends really don’t have much of a desire to play in it’s the dark future setting.

This Friday past we (my son and I) went to see Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and I was struck by how much the vaguely steampunk setting would work in a low-tech Dark Heresy setting. The witches in the film are excellent examples of Chaos-taint, and the steampunk-esque weapons certainly had a WH40K feel to them.

And that had me thinking.

Why couldn’t the setting of 41st millennium be re-imagined? It doesn’t have to actually be so unrelentingly god-awful and dark, that’s a function of how the Imperium works – and there are certainly plenty of examples of how there is definite scalability to that even in the official universe. So I’ve starting think about how everything could stay the same but at the same time be massively different…

I have a couple of very interesting ideas, and much of it involves delving into the apocrypha of the WH40K setting – not hard because I was playing 40K back in the days of the original Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader rules. So I’m going to be using this space to talk about this alternative setting, which has it’s start in bright hope of the Great Crusade, before the dark days of the Horus Heresy and the slow descent of the Imperium into madness and chaos…