[The Lord Inquisitor]

In the GRIM DARKNESS of the FAR FUTURE there is ONLY WAR.

Well, that depends on how you categorize 'war', I guess. I mean, there's also people who are slave-ganged into producing food and the highly important materials for the war. And the obstructive bureaucrats who can (accidentally) make entire planets disappear, or suffer orbital bombardment by making a ROUNDING ERROR. But if you consider that life in general throughout the galaxy is a constant (losing) fight for survival, then yes, there is indeed ONLY WAR.

So, where does W40k or WH40k as it's commonly abbreviated to reside on the various scales of fiction?

Idealism vs Cynicism: Pretty hard across to the cynical side. There is, after all, only war, no hope.

Sci-Fi Hardness: Prefers to be 'soft', aiming for fun rather than scientifically accurate representations.

Funny vs Serious: So serious, it could be considered to wrap back around to funny. It depends, really, who you're talking to, but for the most part: GRIM DARKNESS...yeah.

Set in the 41st Millenium (or thereabouts, thus where we get the 'far future' part of the tagline), W40k takes place on an epic scale. But first, some background (links are if you want more detail/a better description, and probably not compulsory reading...though very interesting imnsho):

***

The second spread of mankind to the stars was not as peaceful as some wish it could be, instead centering around a massive military campaign to unify the various worlds where humanity had settled. During this time, the leader of all humanity, known only as the Emperor (a supposedly immortal, incredibly old superhuman being, who may or may not have been various historical figures) led the Great Crusade himself. Along the way, he was reunited with his 'sons', the Primarchs (who were actually genetically engineered from his DNA, to aid him in the Crusades, but they were...uh...stolen by the powers of the Warp, which we'll get to in a bit, and scattered across the universe), all of whom had become great leaders on their own planets.

Right, long story short, the Emperor conquered thousands of systems with the support of his Sons, the 'geneseed' of whom was used to create more supersoliders, known as Space Marines. These soldiers underwent a rigorous and brutal training program, with various medical procedures which gave them enhanced strength, endurance, speed and so forth - and this was before they were given power armour. Divided into Legions, headed by the Primarch whose geneseed had been used to create them, the Space Marines were the ultimate fighting force of the Imperium, until the Emperor decided to leave the front lines, and gave control over to his 'first' Son, Horus.

This was a very, very bad idea. Horus was eventually killed, and shown visions of his father being worshipped as a God (one thing the Emperor had always preached against), and himself being utterly forgotten by mankind. These visions came from the Chaos Gods, who basically resurrected him, and imbued him with all their gifts (something which hasn't happened since, to anyone). He basically then manages to turn half of all the Space Marines against the Emperor, and leads a giant assault against the Imperium with the intent of killing his father and stopping the horrible vision he'd been shown from coming true.

Eventually attacking the capital of the Imperium, Holy Terra (Earth), Horus was on the edge of victory. So the Emperor takes a few of his most loyal men and teleports onto Horus' ship. They're separated, but all fight their way to the bridge (or die trying), where eventually the Emperor and Horus face off. Horus is killed, but the Emperor himself is mortally wounded. Abaddon the Despoiler, second in command to Horus, basically halts the invasion and turns every ship he has around, fleeing back to the Warp. The Emperor, meanwhile, returns to his palace, where after a few quick modifications, he is literally interred in the life-supporting Golden Throne for the next 10,000 years (bringing us to the 'present' chain of events). Over the course of these years, the forces of Chaos repeatedly harass and attack the Imperium, but are always driven back (there have been, so far, thirteen 'Black Crusades', which basically consist of all the remaining Chaos Space Marines (or Traitor Legions/Traitor Marines, as they are known) unite under one banner and attack again, plus numerous, smaller attack all the time, usually resulting in the death of billions).

***

In addition to the forces of Chaos, there are many hostile alien races who would dearly love to see the Imperium (and each other) dead, for various reasons, most of which involve self-preservation, funnily enough. But we'll deal with those in more detail later.

OK, so hopefully that gives a 'feel' for the setting. But let's break it down into key components and areas. I'll try to go light on the stuff that is 'extra', and focus more on the important aspects as far as our roleplaying will go: the Imperium of Mankind.

To Be Continued, probably in another post so you can all know when I've updated it...

This post has been edited by The Lord Inquisitor: 18 November 2010 - 04:09 AM

[The Lord Inquisitor]

Life in the Imperium

Overview

For the trillions of citizens in the Imperium, life is only bearable because of their ignorance. Working day-in, day-out in factories, or scraping a living in the sub-levels of a Hive city, where even the lights have long since stopped working is about the best your average civilian can hope for. A few may be lucky enough to receive an education by right of birth, which allows them to fulfill administrative positions, or be born on a planet where living conditions are slightly above normal - life on an agricultural world is hard, but the issues with population density are much less, and they rarely rely on other planets for food.

Some planets have humans as their primary export resource, sending thousands of men and women off each year to join the ever-depleting ranks of the Imperial Guard, and others are not even aware of the highly technologically advanced Imperium - stuck in the Feudal age, and only occasionally are drawn into the affairs of the galaxy, though they are still officially considered under the protection of the Emperor.

Being a citizen in the Imperium confers no rights upon you - only responsibilities. However, it is possible, if unlikely, that a citizen be promoted to the title of Adept, becoming a menial, or unskilled laborer, though this is not a hereditary title like other Adept positions.


Worlds closer to the Warp anomaly known as the Eye of Terror are in constant risk of assault by the forces of Chaos, though worlds further afield are in just as much danger from surprise raiding parties, and the dangers of the Eldar, Dark Eldar, Tau, Orks, Necrons and Tyranids - all ever-present, though some worlds may go for several generations without attack, while others may experience a near-constant state of war.

Many planets are also left nearly undefended from attack for long periods of time - the forces of the Imperium are stretched thin at the best of times, with only the local Planetary Defense Force to stave off invading forces long enough that local sector reinforcements (usually in the form of the Imperial Guard) can arrive. This can take a long time, however, due to the nature of Warp travel, and the general situation of the Imperium. The PDF are usually very poorly trained and equipped - a situation made worse by the practice of recruiting the best members of the various PDFs to the Imperial Guard - and they are usually the first casualties of any engagement, trading lives for time.

The shining beacons of hope for humanity, the Space Marines (aka the Adeptus Astartes), have now been re-organised into smaller Chapters, in an attempt to prevent the horrible events of ten millennia past from repeating themselves. They are reserved for the most serious of engagements, but such is the situation in the galaxy that they are almost always fighting somewhere, against someone. There are approximately one thousand chapters, each consisting of a thousand Space Marines - their own self-contained army, replete with transports, supply staff, ground vehicles and so forth. These great forces each recruit from across the galaxy, mostly from Feral, and the sub-levels of Hive worlds, where the most violent humans reside. Prized characteristics are near-psychotic levels of 'killer instincts' and aggression - which says a lot about the situation the Imperium is in.

The Warp

The Warp - a psychic dimension parallel to real space. It is known by many names: Warpspace, the Immaterium, the Empyrean, the Ether, the Sea of Souls, and also as the Realm of Chaos. This is one of the most important facets of the world, in so far as it governs interstellar travel, the powers of Psykers, and is the home of many of the Imperium's (and the galaxy's) greatest foes. It is formeless energy, true Chaos, and it allows faster-than-light travel due to the relative nature of time and distance compared to real space, by tearing a hole in reality that a warp-capable ship can enter.

To quote verbatim from the Lexicanum:

"The common analogy used to describe Warpspace compares the Warp to a vast sea of energy, which is subject to constant movement, currents, undertows, etc. Although with its own reality, Warp and real space do bear a relationship as dimensions parallel to each other. The fact they share this relationship allows a Warp-capable craft to enter the Warp, carried for a time along the Warp flows, until reemerging into real space a distance away from its starting point. The common metaphor used for Warp-jumping compares the Warp to a fast flowing stream. Its motionless banks represent real space. A leaf dropped into the water upstream will be carried along by the currents. This is a useful metaphor in understanding Warpspace, although the Warp is far more complex in its movements than a linear stream. The Warp moves in endlessly unpredictable and convoluted patterns."

And this is probably the easiest way to 'get' the Warp.



Worlds



Key Organisations


To be continued...


Recommended (not necessary, but it'd be a fairly good idea to read) Links, sorted from 'really should probably read' to 'not that important, but good to know':

The Inquisition / Inquisitors (separate link)

The Space Marine Armoury

Psykers

The Imperial Guard
Space Marines

Hive Worlds

The Imperium

The Adeptus Mechanicus

The Adeptus Terra

Forge Worlds

Civilised World

Feral World

Agricultural World

Industrial Worlds


I fully don't expect you to read ALL of the above. But the first...four? You should at least skim. Everything else will probably only be referenced here and there, and if so, I will endeavor to explain it at the time, in brief.

This post has been edited by The Lord Inquisitor: 18 November 2010 - 10:28 AM