WH40K 5th Edition fluff(spoilers)

[Lonestar]

And I doubt this "makes way for the tau". The Tau are so still bloody tiny that they're millenia away from even being close to threatening the Imperium, and that assumes that they get deus-ex-machinad some way around their FTL speed limits and FTL communications issues. (whcih they might.)

Well, here is a post from someone on Relic who allegedly saw a 5th Edition Pomo Copy(concerning the Tau)

right, so i just thumbed through the new rule book and its going to rock the fluff world.

First and foremost- GW has specifically laid down that the Tau live 40-50 years as a norm and then experience a brief old age and die. It is emphasized repeatedly that the Tau are a driven and anxious race and this has been the reason for their dynamic expansion- there is no allusion to any other cause. It also mentions that it has been noted that certain Tau are known to attain much older years "As if their lifespans are linked to the manifest destiny of the race" Interesting right?

Right- now some nitty gritty and some information on the rest of the galaxy (they went all out with fluff and are fleshing out the universe)

-Myrandias is the closest Exodite world to the Tau Empire.

-The Third Sphere is no longer just an invasion through the northern 'gate' of the Empire (between Perdus and Gulf) but is now in all directions stretching out from a number of Septs. This is shattering as we no longer have a definitive path that the expansion is going- as it seems to be everywhere. The arrows indicate that they are making ground in the Rift! All fronts are being expanded and it even seems, although it doesn't' state it, that a tendril of the expansion is nearing the Enclaves- maybe we'll see something out of this since we were told Aun'shi went out there. Anyway, this push is being called the WARS OF EXPANSION (with Shadowsun in the north with the largest force).

-Hive Fleet Colossus is the Tyranid fleet that has been engaging the Tau Empire- it seems that its tendrils into the Empire were defeated by Shadowsun. (you can tell by the maps they show- its pretty detailed)

-NEW XV info- seems like there are a XV17 and XV26 model of suit that are built for maneuverability rather than firepower, meanwhile the XV 86 is called a 'integrated interface armor' which are the space capable model- don't know what this could mean, perhaps it is a suit that uses another suit?

-New Kroot worlds: Tawka and Seco in the middle and south of the Rift

-There is a definitive calender!!! Its so detailed and explains the number system (which hasn't been seen since a RT WD) in 995.M41 the Tau attack Ghola's Hope, an Imperial Shrine world. Two years later in 997 the 3rd Sphere officially begins and in 999 the 13th black crusade takes place (there is no mention of the Damocles Crusade or Medusa) so maybe the first is being moved and they have accepted that Medusa is still the first event in M42.

-Notable event: The Cytherian Annexation: Jungle world invaded by a large Bork'an force with some Fal'shian. Pathfinders were inserted five months before the invasion while landing zones were cleared by stealth suits. "Hammer head Armor Elimination Groups" are used to hit Imperial armor. Shas'O Alo'rra (cold Shadow (new word) Is in his first role as a 'O and is untested, he leads a daring attack as the Tau are being bogged down by jungle combat and proves his worth. There is still resistance on the world from Catachan 26th 51st 56th.

-Sept symbols are painted on chest circle of Firewarriors while they Sept coloring has been added to various parts of the armor, not just strips.

Things to know about the new timeline- well, the Imperium is literally falling apart and is now in the Age of the fall, or something, it seems that after the Age of Apostacy there were huge purgings for thousands of years. The Space Marines are being directed to take more of a direct control over worlds that are rebelling while the Macharian worlds had a recent and massive rebellion where it took 100 space marine chapters to quell. Meanwhile, Space Marines are being swayed by Huron Blackheart who is turning loyal marines to his piratical cause- they say its amazing how many loyal marines turn but this could be because the Imperium is falling apart. In addition, the AdMech have discovered irreperable damage to the Golden Throne while the Astronomicon is dimming to such a degree that contact can no longer be maintained with distant worlds like Macragge.

So, obviously they are setting the Imperium up to be far more rickety while(greatly, it seems) increasing the Tau's overall strength. I thought Hive Fleet Colossus were those centaurs though?

[Lonestar]

As for Amberly's memoirs from the M42...well..if BL didn't even mention here in the Inquisition encyclopedia they had I'm guessing that GW doesn't give two shits about the memoirs.

[RIPP_n_WIPE]

So what's up with the other Ordos and my favorite 'rine chapter?

I lack the necessary books

[Siege]

Well, here is a post from someone on Relic who allegedly saw a 5th Edition Pomo Copy(concerning the Tau) *snip*

Gah. To be honest, this all strikes me as an awful lot like "RAR Tau!" wank with some unneccesary nerfing of the Imperium thrown in just for kicks. If this is the real deal, then colour me less than impressed with the route GW is taking.

[Vendetta]

Gah. To be honest, this all strikes me as an awful lot like "RAR Tau!" wank with some unneccesary nerfing of the Imperium thrown in just for kicks. If this is the real deal, then colour me less than impressed with the route GW is taking.

Really, it sounds more like the realisation that the Tau to date have been a rabbit on the highway compared to the rest of 40k, and they need a bit of a leg up to explain why they haven't been crushed like bugs.

[NecronLord]

Yeah. I don't honestly have a problem with the tau getting bigger and more powerful.

The Tau are more advanced than 99% of the races they encounter. The only thing holding back their expansion is logistics.

As for Amberly's memoirs from the M42...well..if BL didn't even mention here in the Inquisition encyclopedia they had I'm guessing that GW doesn't give two shits about the memoirs.

GW is not going to advance to M42, so it basically stands alone anyway.

[Cykeisme]

Hasn't present canon established that Ultramar is still within the range of the Astronomican as of 999.M41?

If they're not advancing to M42, how can the Astronomican have receded to no longer cover Macragge in M41 itself?!
That makes no sense..

Yeah. I don't honestly have a problem with the tau getting bigger and more powerful.

The Tau are more advanced than 99% of the races they encounter. The only thing holding back their expansion is logistics.

The Imperium is more technologically advanced than the Orks, for all the good that does.. Orky logistics are phenomenal.
Okay, so that was a poorly thought-out soundbite, but I had to say it anyway

[NecronLord]

Hasn't present canon established that Ultramar is still within the range of the Astronomican as of 999.M41?

If they're not advancing to M42, how can the Astronomican have receded to no longer cover Macragge in M41 itself?!
That makes no sense..

The nids are coming baaccckkk! *Reptile-insect roar*

More seriously, it's likely that previous instances of the astronomicon in that area would be repeater beacons - we know these exist, there's been a major one on the map of Ultima Segmentum since second edition or so.

The Imperium is more technologically advanced than the Orks, for all the good that does..

Lots? When the Imperium has time, it's stomped orks. There is indeed, a tale that there was once an ork warlord so powerful and huge he engaged the Emperor in hand to hand combat and lasted, for a time.

[The Grim Squeaker]

Lots? When the Imperium has time, it's stomped orks. There is indeed, a tale that there was once an ork warlord so powerful and huge he engaged the Emperor in hand to hand combat and lasted, for a time.[/quote]
It's not so much a tale, as a mention of Horus ripping the hand off an Ork that was fighting the Emperor. (saving his life or somesuch)

[NecronLord]

A tale told by Horus, yes.

[Peptuck]

A tale told by Horus, yes.

Yeah, classic case of an unreliable nararrator right there. Even before the heresy he was a pretty hefty boaster.

[NecronLord]

Well, not entirely. But it's questionable whether Horus knew the true power of the Emperor enough to reliably say if the Ork had a chance.

[Falkenhayn]

So, obviously they are setting the Imperium up to be far more rickety while(greatly, it seems) increasing the Tau's overall strength. I thought Hive Fleet Colossus were those centaurs though?

What I read into this information was "Our minis sales suck so hard that we're going to run a pump job on everybody except our anime knockoff".

[hongi]

A question for the WH40k aficionados here, do you ever see an endgame from GW? I mean, I love the grim dark "we're all going to die very very soon!" atmosphere as much as the next person, but I would like to see it end - or at least, the status quo change. Maybe it'll take another decade after many movies, games, books and the franchise being exploited for as much money as possible, but it deserves a proper ending I think.

[Teleros]

Not really Hongi - it's like the continual list of conflicts in the Star Wars EU - although at least there they can "live happily ever after" for a few years in between the big wars .

[Oskuro]

They are making another edition? Didn't they release the previous edition like a couple years ago? Didn't they just finish pumping out the new edition codex?

Well, business as usual I guess. Drain money from the guys you force to use the latest stuff for the official games, since those are the only ones still buying significant amounts of minis and books.

[Darth Hoth]

I more or less gave up on Games Workshop after they released the 7th edition of Warhammer before finishing the army book run for the 6th. Now I only buy novels and fluff second hand. Are their sales falling? They appear to be getting greedier.

[andrewgpaul]

My copy of the 5th ed book says copyright 2004. When did 3rd ed come out?

[Darth Hoth]

My copy of the 5th ed book says copyright 2004. When did 3rd ed come out?

The 5th edition is not yet out, you are referring to the 4th.

The third edition was released in 1998.

[Cykeisme]

Hmm.. a ten year delay between 3rd and 4th, but a two year delay between 4th and 5th?
Something sits funny..

[legio mortis]

I've found another synopsis of the background, and it doesn't seem so doom n' gloom after all.

[quote=Robert Frazer from Relicnews Forums]Thanks to indulgent staff at my local Hobby Centre judiciously accepting that I was only planning out my new army's background in advance of the release (which is true... just the whole truth...), I had the opportunity to spend some time with the new rulebook this afternoon and naturally roved over the background section.

Everyone who's filling sandbags, stockpiling tins of Spam and bombing up magazines in preparation for the coming cataclysm that's going to sweep over and smash through the bleaguered Imperium like the Mongol hordes over Asia - stand down from action stations. The actuality isn't nearly as bad as the distilled alarmism being ground by the rumour mill is making out.

Most of the new fluff introduced into the rulebook isn't related to the fall of the Imperium at all, but rather her rise. One of the problems with Warhammer 40,000's background is that, while deep, it's nonetheless still quite patchy and sporadic - ten thousand years is an awful lot of time to fill, and you could dump a hundred swimming pools of dye off the coast and you wouldn't colour the whole ocean. Previously we had the Horus Heresy, followed by a yawing gulf of utter impregnable inscrutability, then the Age of Apostasy, then another few vague millenia of "heer bei dragunz", then the Macharian Crusade and the Fourth Quadrant Rebellion at the beginning of .M41, then another deep dark puddle of unknown centuries until we reach Hive Fleet Behemoth and the Sabbat Worlds and Damocles Crusades and some semblance of a continuous timeline... and even then nine-tenths of the galaxy's events are crammed into the last two decades . While the brush is still painted quite broadly - by necessity, as the background remains only one section of a larger book - much is dedicated to colouring in the white, blank, empty space in the Imperium's history with the lashings of black, grimy, streaking mucky suffering that we cherish so much.

The peril of the "Time of Ending" can also be exaggerated. The tagline of Warhammer 40,00 has been from its earliest days "In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war", and this particular epoch has been conceived in order to hold true to that, emphasising by means of a spicing of disaster and desperation how Mankind is beset on all sides - I doubt that it's a coincidence that the timeline of the "Time of Ending" included in the background section opens in 744.M41, one year before the First Tyrannic War and the aforementioned opening of the continuous history of the modern Imperium; the "Time of Ending" is very much just the here and the now, as it's always been in all past editions. The struggle is just beginning, and the Imperium isn't yet in unarrestable decline; the game is in no danger of falling into an endgame scenario. The announcement of damage to the Golden Throne mentioned in previous posts is there, but it's not a great tempestuous and dramatic declaration that throws everything into alarm and confusion. It's given the barest minimum of focus - buried as a brief passing note in the timeline and not so much as mentioned anywhere else. It's plain to see that Games Workshop is leaving a plot hook to hang an expansion from if need be, but it has no bearing on the galaxy as it stands today. It remains business as usual.

Each race has its own two-page section explaining their general theme and motivation, accompanied by a further two or three pages describing a short campaign which demonstrates their racial character and way of war but is entirely self-contained and has no bearing on the wider balance of power.

Here are a few notable elements that I thought might provoke interest. I won't divulge all of it, I wouldn't want to spoil your enjoyment of the book when you buy it:

-For nine centuries over .M34, Segmentum Pacificus was independent from the wider Imperium and took policy from the Ur-Council of Nova Terra, which existed in opposition to the Adeptus Ministorum. This time of two empires is known as the "Nova Terra Interregnum".

-With reference to the decline of the Imperium in the "Time of Ending", it is said that more worlds are being given over to the direct control of the Space Marines for the sake of stability, but no explanation of this situation or further information is provided.

-Space is rife with the vicious and the selfish, and minor alien races are no different in their bellicose temperaments: Despite their aspirations to harmony, the Tau Empire has to fight to subdue a vassal race more often than not.

-There's an interesting revision of the quality of the Necron consciousness. Apparently Necrons first emerge from the conversion process entirely sentient and self-aware - repeated phasing-out and rebuilding gradually corrupts and degrades their memory engrams until they're left as mindless automatons. Necron Lords benefit from advanced phase-streams and reconstruction suites which avoid this problem.

-Necron Lords also benefit from a great deal of autonomy - a lot of the raids Necrons have been launching are not actually in the direct service of the C'tan at all, but Lords literally venting their spleen and working out their boundless rage against the offensive nature of life and existence by means of punitive slaughter.

-The dark world of black death is known as "Birmingham".

-Serenedipitously, a couple of new campaigns mentioned in the Imperial history section actually tie in to topics that have recently been discussed right here at Backstory and Fluff. The thread on weapons of mass destruction can be augmented by the rebellion of the Occlusiad: a faction of renegade tech-priests led by the prescient "Blind King", they held that all fleshkind was insulting to the Machine God and led a ten-year campaign of destruction from 550.M37; one of their tactics, using STC lore, was to drive stars to supernovae. For the thread on extra-galactic travel, the very thing is performed during the "Last Voyage of Admiral Usurs": Usurs is "cast down" by the High Lords for a reason the background doesn't specify; he's a powerful figure, and so rather than risk the sympathy revolts that might occur if he's executed, in 265.M33 Usurs and his flotilla are pointed beyond the galactic fringe and told not to come back. Usurs sends messages back for two decades reporting about new worlds discovered and conquered for the Imperium (although none are ever visited by the Imperium herself) before falling silent.

-"Chaos Space Marines" and "Chaos Daemons" have separate entries. The distinction established in the recent Codices will be maintained.

-After the Age of Apostasy comes the Age of Redemption - long millenia where Makind expurgates its sins by the atonement of good works: constant labour to expand. One of the reasons why the Imperium is in relatively poor shape nowadays is not necessarily a relentless dirge of doleful defeats, but by ironically being too successful - these protracted crusades inflicted considerable overstretch.

-There are three new and separate Hive Fleets entering the galaxy: Hydra from the south, and Moloch & Jormungadr from the north-east. A map also includes Hive Fleet Colossus, but if you refer to your Codex Tyranids you'll understand that this is its own separate issue (the retconning of the Zoats out of the fluff) and not part of the new wave portended by the aforementioned three.

And to polish off the history lecture with an entertaining tidbit of local colour gleaned from my network of contacts:

FUN FACT: Ask a Nottingham taxi driver for the "Nazi Headquarters" and they'll take you to Games Workshop - a hulking statue stands outside the front entrance, and it's a grey concrete block displaying a poised eagle.[/quote]

[legio mortis]

Ghetto edit: Shit, clicked submit instead of preview. Sorry about the format in advance.

[Bedlam]

-The dark world of black death is known as "Birmingham".quote]

Ah, they've kept that from the Rogue Traider fluff.

Birmingham the plant on which the sun does not shine .

[andrewgpaul]

Hmm.. a ten year delay between 3rd and 4th, but a two year delay between 4th and 5th?
Something sits funny..

Nah, I typoed;
3rd: 1998
4th: 2004
5th: 2008

Annoyingly, that means even more of a wait for a Space Wolves Codex; they never got one for 4th edition.

[NecronLord]

-There's an interesting revision of the quality of the Necron consciousness. Apparently Necrons first emerge from the conversion process entirely sentient and self-aware - repeated phasing-out and rebuilding gradually corrupts and degrades their memory engrams until they're left as mindless automatons. Necron Lords benefit from advanced phase-streams and reconstruction suites which avoid this problem.

-Necron Lords also benefit from a great deal of autonomy - a lot of the raids Necrons have been launching are not actually in the direct service of the C'tan at all, but Lords literally venting their spleen and working out their boundless rage against the offensive nature of life and existence by means of punitive slaughter.

*Punches the air*