tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831276194138109948.post4080697865715595898..comments2024-03-28T10:14:58.693+00:00Comments on The Good the Bad and the Insulting: Gathering Storm: Fracture of Biel-Tan Part 4 - The Roads Not Taken (Warhammer 40,000 Supplement Review)Bellariushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02652722543111095280noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831276194138109948.post-17278639455226405552017-03-07T23:29:13.482+00:002017-03-07T23:29:13.482+00:00That's what I thought. Quite the slip-up to fi...That's what I thought. Quite the slip-up to find in the first few pages of a novel.<br /><br />We are going to do something different with the Beast. Since the Beast creates Prime-Orks, if one is not put off the idea of Ork Primarchs, I believe this would serve much better as an End Times event. The Beast would lead the tech-Ork faction I outlined above, rivaling Thraka's more spiritual/religious Ork faction. I think it makes more sense since the Human Primarchs are making a return, giving them a dangerous xeno opponent outside of the Daemon Primarchs. <br /><br />I also want to introduce the Necrons earlier, say, M37, to slowly ratchet up the threats the Imperium faces instead of all of them showing up in tail end of M41. sanguine simisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03172095980525172186noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831276194138109948.post-6213416934501122262017-03-07T08:52:41.301+00:002017-03-07T08:52:41.301+00:00God what I Love the idea of two different gods fig...God what I Love the idea of two different gods fighting eachothers, and with the other books it isnt like the Necrons would steal the attention from chaos either.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15495787196679052888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831276194138109948.post-52518661128493725292017-03-07T06:01:40.855+00:002017-03-07T06:01:40.855+00:00I'm not Bellarius, but I do know the answer to...I'm not Bellarius, but I do know the answer to this question at least.<br />You are correct, the Necrons only became known to the Imperium at large in 897.M41 when they attacked and wiped out the Sisters of Sanctuary 101.<br /><br />Technically the Necrons have been around and awake for a lot longer, Trazyn the Infinite for example has been awake since the Great Crusade, however the Imperials did not know this, they did not know the Necrons existed, and if they ever did come into contact with them it was never recorded.<br /><br />Personally I think the Beast Arises is a terrible series that's best left forgotten. If you want to do anything with the event my main advice would be to ignore all the books and do an entirely new version.grdaathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00722216755745063033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831276194138109948.post-47553758730464668172017-03-06T14:59:52.561+00:002017-03-06T14:59:52.561+00:00I apologize for the double post and for being off-...I apologize for the double post and for being off-topic. If there's some other method of communication you would prefer I use, I can. Until then, I have been greatly confused by the opening in Shadow of Ullanor. It's part of the Beast series, giant Ork 'Emperor' threat in M32. <br /><br />Here's what has confused me. The opening is clearly written from an in-universe, Imperial perspective. But it references the necrontyr and their tombs. Three times, no less! I thought the Necrons were only known to the Imperium in M41? sanguine simisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08676216178883582702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831276194138109948.post-49689902534027252832017-03-06T01:26:58.365+00:002017-03-06T01:26:58.365+00:00Fair point. You're not the only I've heard...Fair point. You're not the only I've heard who missing some of the mystique of a long-lost age. <br /><br />And thank you. I have a solid grasp on Imperium and Heresy lore, but once I leave that bubble my knowledge becomes hit-and-miss. I just don't have the same store of widespread and deep knowledge of the various aspects of the setting as you do. And I want to make the xenos a more diverse bunch in our 40k, along with playing a bigger role/threat in the End Times beyond the conflict being defined largely as Imperium vs. Chaos. <br /><br />For example, I have an idea that, in addition to the clans, the Orks are split between two different factions. One faction is descended from the technological legacy of Gorro and is building off that beginning to become a more tech-advanced version of the Orks. The other faction is represented by Ghazghkull and represents a spiritual force as Thraka leads the Orks deeper into religion with the faction overall having more psykers and more esoteric benefits. The two sides are battle bros, to borrow from the rules, but do have two separate visions for the future path of all Orks and will fight over it. sanguine simisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08676216178883582702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831276194138109948.post-30294495812297053842017-03-06T01:12:08.660+00:002017-03-06T01:12:08.660+00:00Please, you're more than welcome to do so. Thi...Please, you're more than welcome to do so. This really was just a case of looking down something from the past book and penning it down in five minutes or so. They're fairly basic starting points for what could be a much bigger saga.<br /><br />As for the Horus Heresy, well, that's a more complicated subject personally, but overall the expansion has been a good one. There are only a few really negative points I can bring up in either case, and even then they usually led into better things. Scars, for example, I personally thought was average but it set the scene for the excellent Path of Heaven. If there is one criticism to make though, it lacks some of the basic perfection of the Index Astartes articles. There's not enough mystery any more, and it seems so much of the old era is being outlined and explained that it has lost some of its magic. It was probably unavoidable, and that expansion has led to great things, but I personally do think that the old role of the Heresy serving as a bedrock for player ideas is something of a lost art these days.Bellariushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02652722543111095280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831276194138109948.post-29163491477299830102017-03-05T23:40:53.736+00:002017-03-05T23:40:53.736+00:00I can't tell you how tempted I am to incorpora...I can't tell you how tempted I am to incorporate some of these elements/ideas into the 40k BotL universe. <br /><br />I'm curious, what changes have you thought about the development of the Horus Heresy? Or are you satisfied with what we've seen from Black Library and Forgeworld? sanguine simisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08676216178883582702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831276194138109948.post-87044029772955914942017-03-05T12:21:46.429+00:002017-03-05T12:21:46.429+00:00Ah, well, the Commoragh one is actually following ...Ah, well, the Commoragh one is actually following it on from a previously established plot point. In preperation for the fall of the Gate, Vect supposedly spent the bulk of his power gathering Untouchables and Pariahs to limit the damage. It was never fully revealed what he was going to do to them, but it was known that he was going to use them against the uncoming daemon onslaught, privately keeping them to allow himself to defeat the oncoming tide and further his borderline deification among some members of their society. Having Malys getting her hands on whatever he was creating and using it to try and forcibly close off the Gate seemed like a way of reintroducing that plot and bringing it to a close as needed, rather than just forgetting about it. Also, yeah, i'll admit I had a few interesting ideas involving some of the lesser known xenos species which lurk throughout the city - the Sslyth being the big one of course - but it seemed best to keep things simple as this was a general basis for a storyline rather than going into full details.<br /><br />As for the Eldrad one, actually I agree that point surrounding the Solitaire would make a hell of a lot of sense really. It would help him to gain the further information he needs and it ties closely into his personal connection with their people, so it would be a good reason for him to know of certain details that might escape the other craftworlds. <br /><br />Okay, yeah, that would definitely be a good twist to keep things going on both sides. On the NEcron side of things - while I did want to give one of the lesser lauded characters a chance to shine - this would be a moment to fall back on their old imagery and give them far more reasons to actively hunt the Craftworld Eldar over rebuilding their empire, while also setting up future stories. With new god emerging and threats like the Yncame being able to fight them off I could see any who retain their own wills seeking to counter this new threat however they could. Overall, I really have nothing to add as it's a great idea for a core storyline.Bellariushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02652722543111095280noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1831276194138109948.post-72336700498300264022017-03-05T04:33:37.014+00:002017-03-05T04:33:37.014+00:00So I'll admit that I'm with you with some ...So I'll admit that I'm with you with some parts of these, but you lose me in others, so I'm going to offer my suggestions for how to improve them.<br /><br />Starting with the Dark Eldar story, you had me until the bit about the grotesque made out of 100 pariahs. Yes I figure that it would be possible to get such a thing with enough years, but it would be like watching an action movie where the villain has a gun made out of diamonds. It's a little too much and I'm not sure how the webway would even react to that many, let alone the Dark Eldar even with their atrophied Psyker abilities since they're supposed to fear the loss of their soul above all else, and destroying somebody's soul is one of the things a Pariah can do (usually with the right materials, as we see with Culexus assassins).<br />There's not too much you have to change there however, a frequently forgotten thing is that Commorragh is supposed to be home to many xenos species. Surely Malyse wouldn't find it too hard to hire the muscle to make a push to the gate and maybe then and there she can get possessed by Ynnead and seal it.<br /><br />For the bit about Eldrad, since the souls are now supposed to go to Ynnead, I figure he could probably learn about the diety from a Solitaire he could have been working with on his way back to Ulthwe. Solitaires are still claimed by Slaanesh, unlike the rest of the Harlequins who are protected by Cegorach, so if there was something that disturbed this I'd figure they'd know about it, similar to how most other Eldar become aware of when they've attracted Slaanesh's attention (most of those being Corsairs).<br />I also figure that aside from Altansar being different (I do like that idea) he could also become aware of life on the Crone Worlds, specifically the ones in the Eye of Terror and who haven't yet had something happen to their spirit stones, since I'd figure that they would be the ones to feel Ynnead's influence first (who knows, maybe Malyse went looking for an artifact that could close the gate and decided that anything of value would be on those worlds since nowhere else seems to have recorded instructions on how to keep the thing closed).<br /><br />Finally for Biel-tan, I like the Necron idea, but I'm going one step further because I think in that case the Necrons could be led by an awakened C'tan, one of the ones who managed to either retain or regain their original mind and turned the tables on the Necrons who thought to control it.<br />The reason it's attacking the Eldar is rather simple, as a C'tan it's a god, but one of the material plane rather than the warp. They don't like the Eldar and they don't like any warp gods, so if it could prevent Ynnead from getting a hold in the material world then I think it would since C'tan and the warp are like oil and water.<br />With that you'd have a reason for why they'd need to summon the Yncarne to Biel-tan, and it would do more than float and frown for the majority of the book. Having it fight and make a C'tan retreat would be a good way to show how powerful it is as unlike the Avatar of Khaine, C'tan are not killed just to show how awesome somebody else is. Managing to fight, injure and scare the C'tan is something that the Yncarne should be able to do, even if the C'tan is individually stronger. Normally the only reason somebody makes the C'tan retreat is either because they manage to hurt it significantly and the C'tan runs away (cowardice in the face of perceived threats being something they always seemed to have) or they'll hurt it enough to damage the controlling devices which cause the Necrons to spirit it away until they can repair those (which wouldn't happen here, and the only exception to these two situations I can think of was the terrible Warzone: Damocles) so having the Yncarne fight it off until the rest of the Eldar can flee shouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility.grdaathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00722216755745063033noreply@blogger.com