What is the current power level of the Necrons?

[Bob the Gunslinger]

I was reading through old versus threads, where the Necrons could defeat the Galactic Empire handily, when I came across a thread from after the 5th edition codex dropped. The 5th edition codex stripped the Necrons of their ftl and most space assets, neutered the C'Tan, and reduced the threat of Necrons considerably. The so-called Newcrons were considered not even a match for the Borg.

Well, it's been three editions since then, and there have been many novels and two popular Battlefleet Gothic video games. How much of the Alan Merrett/Mat Ward fluff has been re-retconned? Have the Necrons been restored to their former glory? Or are they still a pathetic shadow of their former selves?

[NecronLord]

The topic of necron FTL is very much vexed. I know from speaking to Matt Ward about it back at Warhammer Fest some years ago that it was a directive of the then-manager Alan Merret to include the dependence on Dolmen Gates - don't confuse that for not having FTL either, access to the webway is very potent - to tie all of the IP's faster than light travel into the warp. But the book was already written at that point, and it doesn't make logical sense; the World Engine clearly uses a non-warp FTL, as do the wormholes in the book, etc.

The Inertialess drive has made other appearances since, but the bit about dependence on Dolmen Gates remains in the codexes, likely due to recycling the copy. Last year at Warhammer Fest I made a point of asking several of the studio writers about how the necrons travel FTL, answers were mostly 'inertialess drive' with some other variations.

It's helpful to remember that Codexes are in-universe and usually tainted by an Imperial viewpoint. The rules of parsimony, certainly those that we use for Star Wars ("If it appears on screen it is canon") indicate that the actual appearance of inertialess drives in some books trumps the text saying that (the Imperium belives!) they do not exist.

Redditer u/posixthreads has compiled an exhaustive list of the several different necron FTL technologies we've seen since the update in 5th edition.

https://www.reddit.com/r/40kLore/commen ... edoflight/

It should be noted that while in 3rd edition it was said that the ships in question were immensely fast, appearance of inertialess drive does not mean it is that fast in the reboot.

That said while their FTL and the disposition of it and so forth are ambiguous now, they have gained a number of things.
1. They're much more numerous. There are more necron warriors than there are Imperial Citizens as per recent lore. Given my old estimate of the Imperium of Man population as comfortably greater than 1e16 people, that's a lot. Only a fraction of them are active, but more are becoming so all the time.
2. They have many new toys, the most impressive of which is the Celestial Orrery, which can induce nova in any system in the galaxy - the only reason they've not chosen to destroy the Imperium of Man by inducing Nova in Sol is because this device is owned by the conservative and prudent Oruscar dynasty who do not wish to make war on the Imperium. In an all out conflict, Coruscant and others key Imperial Systems would be at great danger. Given the unquestioned ability of a Starkiller base to make the galaxy kneel, the Orrery would result in capitulation (the Oruscar Necrons could also eliminate the Imperium as a polity in seconds if they chose to).
3. Another new toy (spoilers for Belisarius Cawl: The Great Work) is the Spoiler

Pharos device, which is definitively assigned as a necron creation, and works in the same manner as the Iconian Portals from Star Trek. Cawl demonstrates these have true transgalactic range by opening a portal to a star on the far side of the galaxy. The same device has been used for assassination and kidnapping including penetrating shielded environments in other books. The book shows these are dilapidated, but if we're talking necrons at their pre-hibernation peak, simply sending a strike force into Palpatine's bedroom is eminently possible, let alone the logistics advantages these devices provide alongside the necrons' still-canon portals.There was at one point a network of these devices comprising more than a hundred base-stations.

[Bob the Gunslinger]

Thanks for responding, and in so much depth. I really enjoyed reading that write-up.

Has much of the War in Heaven background changed to accommodate the Newcron retcon? From older descriptions ("aeons passed", etc.) it seems like the Necrons were active clients for the C'Tan for even longer than they have been in stasis.

One thing that bothers me, though, is that the Necrons lost their non-warp ftl the same edition that the Tyranids lost their warp-based travel for ...non-warp ftl. Merret must not have been paying attention. Due to inconsistent background and lazy writing, 5th edition broke the setting for me. Sounds like nobody post-Merret has taken the initiative to fix it since then.

[WhiteLion]

I don't particularly like the Necrons, the egypt theme with pyramid ships etc I have always found it tacky, but the talk is that the necrons have devastating weapons, the energy projectors of a Cairn Class I have read that pierce an IoM cruiser from the bow at the stern, useless shields and armor. They have tombs that lock ship crews into hallucinations and induced terror, can drain enemy ships' reactors leaving them helpless, and have armor that reflects energy weapons, and even Nova cannon shots are useless.
I don't like them, but in all honesty I have to say that they really did OP, maybe that's why they left them dormant in the lore.

[NecronLord]

Thanks for responding, and in so much depth. I really enjoyed reading that write-up.

Has much of the War in Heaven background changed to accommodate the Newcron retcon? From older descriptions ("aeons passed", etc.) it seems like the Necrons were active clients for the C'Tan for even longer than they have been in stasis.

The Internal Timeline of the War in Heaven is very fucked, for instance Nemesor Zahndrekh lived during the Wars of Secession and through to biotransferrence, which implies it's within a necrontyr's lifespan.

One thing that bothers me, though, is that the Necrons lost their non-warp ftl the same edition that the Tyranids lost their warp-based travel for ...non-warp ftl. Merret must not have been paying attention. Due to inconsistent background and lazy writing, 5th edition broke the setting for me. Sounds like nobody post-Merret has taken the initiative to fix it since then.

Since we started this thread Gav Thorpe has published Indomitus, a novel with lengthy bits from necron perspective that definately establishes that Inertialess drive exists and is a functional FTL drive.

I don't particularly like the Necrons, the egypt theme with pyramid ships etc I have always found it tacky, but the talk is that the necrons have devastating weapons, the energy projectors of a Cairn Class I have read that pierce an IoM cruiser from the bow at the stern, useless shields and armor. They have tombs that lock ship crews into hallucinations and induced terror, can drain enemy ships' reactors leaving them helpless, and have armor that reflects energy weapons, and even Nova cannon shots are useless.
I don't like them, but in all honesty I have to say that they really did OP, maybe that's why they left them dormant in the lore.

I'm not sure where you were going with this. No arguing taste I guess.

[Bedlam]

The Internal Timeline of the War in Heaven is very fucked,

Given the power of some of the weapons used this might literally be true, think of it as the last great time war lite.