So how Dark is the 42k gonna become?

[Dragonknights]

Well for humanity the slowly degrading golden throne is a real danger going to happen in fact it´s a ticking time bomb ready to go off. But if somehow the emperor intervenes and miraculous restores it. You then still have two major problems.

1. The Tyranids, suddenly the empire or actually the entire galaxy faces a super xenos power that came from another galaxy and is bound on devouring everything on it path. This is a major shift in the balance of power because before the empire was the sole super power in the galaxy as a whole. Chaos is strong but are few in numbers, So are Eldar and many other Xenos. Orks may be more numerous but they never where a single force instead many tribes that fight more times against each other then against others xenos. So in general the empire was a single super power before the coming of the nids.

2. As a counter response to the Tyranids a 3rd super power now begins to awaken. One whom (open to discuss) might be even more powerful then anything else because of their superior technology. The complete opposite of the bio-organism the nids are name the machine like Necrons. A race that not only destroyed the previous Super Power ´The Old Ones`but also destroyed their own gods. A race which can´t be stopped once its tombworld becomes fully active with then the total destruction of the planet.

So now we have 3 Super Powers and one of them already is starting too crumble namely the empire while the other two still have to unleash their full force. If you ask me this is a setting of a war that even will eclipse the height of the Crusades. Perhaps even the war in heaven.

[Arlins]

The silent king returned from his self imposed exile when he came across the Tyranids. As he saw the threat they posed to the necrons plan to return to
biological bodies.
So now he,s trying to get all the tomb worlds awake and according to the codex some Tomb worlds have agreements with nearby planets so co.operation
on a military level is a possibilty.
So a big shit sandwich is on the way and everyone is gonna have to take a bite

[scythes]

The Imperium has always been crumbling and it always will be. If GW makes it seem too bad and there's no way they pull through, it's only because they've already thought up the answer but won't let it be known for another decade. Something like the Primarchs returning and the Emperor finally figuring out, with all his immense psychic power, how to revitalize his body and gets moving again. If they make it too dark, it's only because they have a huge spotlight waiting for the future.

[edmundblack]

How dark? Very dark. The Imperium has been teetering for a while, and there's hints in the GK Codex at least that something Ahirman does "brings the Imperium to it's knees". So we could find Chaos being resurgent, taking on the Imperium but then realising that the Tau are a significant threat in the Galactic East and the Tyranids are a force to be reckoned with. In the midst of all that, things are going to get very dark indeed.

[Dragonknights]

The Imperium has always been crumbling and it always will be. If GW makes it seem too bad and there's no way they pull through, it's only because they've already thought up the answer but won't let it be known for another decade. Something like the Primarchs returning and the Emperor finally figuring out, with all his immense psychic power, how to revitalize his body and gets moving again. If they make it too dark, it's only because they have a huge spotlight waiting for the future.

Should that happen the empire still is in a lot of trouble. The Crusades were partial a great success because the previous super power namely Eldar had crumbled under the Chaos god Slaanesh the situation is now different because the empire needs to face not only one but two super powers. Also less the half of the original primarchs are remaining meaning that at best the empire will be at half the strength of the Space Marine Legions of the crusade.

The emperor will need to deal with both the ever threatening chaos gods and the hivemind in psych battle inside the warp. While the primarchs need to face two major super powers. One within the empire and the other coming from another galaxy. So far is known in the entire 40k history never before have it been that 3 super powers went to war in the galaxy.

1st one is Necrontyr v.s The old ones (War In heaven) Old ones won
2nd one is Necrons v.s The old ones (2nd War In heaven) Necron victory
3rd one is Necrons v.s Eldar. Eldar victory.

4th one is Empire v.s Chaos (Horus heresy.) When the empire entered into a civil war with half of the legions falling into the clutches of Chaos. Empire victory.

5th Is coming after 10,000 years since the Horus Heresy. And this one is the most brutal and most epic one yet to come.

[Deception]

I can guess in the 2 codexs. Bt and tau may pave the way for 6th fluff.

And if necron fluff can take a 180 then whats stopping the tau from becoming a bigger impact then they normally are?

[Leonix]

Indeed... If the Tau grow, so will thier power... Hive Fleet Gorgon proved just how highly adaptable they can be.

[herplover]

Chaos is strong but are few in numbers

I definately would not say few in number.Remember the renegade legions are still at preheresy strength and loyalist chapters defect on a semi regular basis.Im also sure the numbers of demons match humanity,the warp is huge.Add all the chaos worshipping humans and im thinking chaos numbers around what the empire does,they just dont act as 1.

[BrokenWing]

My guess? too dark. It can easily get to a point where the appeal vanishes for most Imperial players because you enter a "what's the point?" situation.

[Dragonknights]

I definately would not say few in number.Remember the renegade legions are still at preheresy strength and loyalist chapters defect on a semi regular basis.Im also sure the numbers of demons match humanity,the warp is huge.Add all the chaos worshipping humans and im thinking chaos numbers around what the empire does,they just dont act as 1.

Actually no they aren't pre-heresy strength the war on Ultramar and Terra really left a scarring impact on the renegade legions but also on loyalist legion though the later regained in chapters their overall strength in term of numbers. Chaos however remained the same after the heresy for those who fled to the eye of terror. Perhaps even dwindled a bit but refilled a bit with stolen geneseed and other marines that became later renegade. Some of them can be brought back from the death by the ruinous powers but that is only given to a few individuals.

The constant warring against each other has further depleted the traitor legions strength. Still enough geneseed is stolen and marines fall to chaos to prevent a legion to be totally diminishing further since they fled to the eye of terror. Most legions also clone their warriors but these clones are far weaker and more psychotic then their creators.

I guess only the Alpha legion is back to its original strength because they never fled to the eye of terror.

[Cordova]

I think it depends. I mean other there are 3 dead Primarchs (and Guilliman I suppose, although he's not a dead cert...) ad the others still rocking about. Plus the Emperor and all the Starchild shiz.

If it went too dark and 'humanity is gonna die' then GW will always have those cards to play, which could change things up. I doubt it'll change too far one way or t'other, considering change = a potential loss of fan base etc, which GW aren't going to risk...

[herplover]

Actually no they aren't pre-heresy strength the war on Ultramar and Terra really left a scarring impact on the renegade legions but also on loyalist legion though the later regained in chapters their overall strength in term of numbers.

meant they arent bound to the 1000 marine limit.Should have clearified that.In all fairness though very few of the loyalist chapters are at full strength with many of them only numbering a couple hundred.Sure the imperial guard is "limitless" but how many demons are there?If demons could enter the material universe more easily,say due to the true death of the emperor for example,that would negate the guards numbers.

[BrokenWing]

The true death of the Emperor would basically end the game. The Imperium would collapse in seconds, the Imperial Webway would be torn open and Terra over run in a single night and the veil between universes would be thinned to the point of near collapse.

[Dragonknights]

The true death of the Emperor would basically end the game. The Imperium would collapse in seconds, the Imperial Webway would be torn open and Terra over run in a single night and the veil between universes would be thinned to the point of near collapse.

Agreed it would then end up like the Eldar race. But as long as the emperor exists then the veil won't be undone and demons have a hard time to get to real space. True when counting demons Chaos would out number the empire but the problem is that you could say they are locked up inside a cage. Only a few times they can break out of their cage but they will quickly be locked up again. The biggest demon invasion up to date in real space has to be that of the 1st war Armageddon.

[klaswullt]

I disagree. I think warhammer 40k universe is going to brighten up.
We have necrons that got "nice" and the Tau is still not dark enought.
The Nercons was like they used to be and the Tau Empire collapse like the human and Eldars.
That would be dark.


So my wishlist of dark thing I would want to happen.

Necrons become bad again with a new retcon.
Necrons of the Void Dragon awake on Terra, Void Dragon is freed who was from Terra originally.
The Cthan Dragon takes control and sabotage Tech Priests
and besiges the Emperiors Throne.

The Tau Empire degenerate and collapse becouse they evolving and progressing to fast
and they where to collectivist and authorian to be efficient.
The Tau continue as underdogs instead.

How dark? Very dark. The Imperium has been teetering for a while, and there's hints in the GK Codex at least that something Ahirman does "brings the Imperium to it's knees". So we could find Chaos being resurgent, taking on the Imperium but then realising that the Tau are a significant threat in the Galactic East and the Tyranids are a force to be reckoned with. In the midst of all that, things are going to get very dark indeed.

[klaswullt]

My guess? too dark. It can easily get to a point where the appeal vanishes for most Imperial players because you enter a "what's the point?" situation.

Mm, I think that is what happen if you identify to much with any faction
becouse all the others must have advantages as well.
I think there will always be a point
and they will never any less playable than any other faction.

Feels, like you attack the dark mode of Warhammer 40k itself.

[BrokenWing]

What advantage does anyone have if an entire faction is destroyed? I don't see one.

[Shock]

The Imperium has always been crumbling and it always will be. If GW makes it seem too bad and there's no way they pull through, it's only because they've already thought up the answer but won't let it be known for another decade. Something like the Primarchs returning and the Emperor finally figuring out, with all his immense psychic power, how to revitalize his body and gets moving again. If they make it too dark, it's only because they have a huge spotlight waiting for the future.

Depends but the Imperium tends to have periods of strenght followed by peroids of decline.

Macharius forged one such era for the Imperium and Sebastian Thor was another.

[herplover]

There are indications that something "chased" the tyranids into the known universe.What ever chases them is something i wouldnt want to meet and im thinking that could end all.

[GKnight]

Should that happen the empire still is in a lot of trouble. The Crusades were partial a great success because the previous super power namely Eldar had crumbled under the Chaos god Slaanesh the situation is now different because the empire needs to face not only one but two super powers. Also less the half of the original primarchs are remaining meaning that at best the empire will be at half the strength of the Space Marine Legions of the crusade.

The emperor will need to deal with both the ever threatening chaos gods and the hivemind in psych battle inside the warp. While the primarchs need to face two major super powers. One within the empire and the other coming from another galaxy. So far is known in the entire 40k history never before have it been that 3 super powers went to war in the galaxy.

1st one is Necrontyr v.s The old ones (War In heaven) Old ones won
2nd one is Necrons v.s The old ones (2nd War In heaven) Necron victory
3rd one is Necrons v.s Eldar. Eldar victory. <- not the whole story you forgot the birth of chaos which truly killed the old ones and made the Necrons go into sleep mode out of "fear"/waiting them out. So I say Victory Chaos Gods! Elder gets what was left!
4th one is Empire v.s Chaos (Horus heresy.) When the empire entered into a civil war with half of the legions falling into the clutches of Chaos. Empire victory.

5th Is coming after 10,000 years since the Horus Heresy. And this one is the most brutal and most epic one yet to come.

Best war time line i have seen in a while besides missing the birth of chaos true winners lol and you can kind of count the Fall of the elder as a mini civil war mostly of ideas but still broke them into 3 groups, Elder, Dark Elder, and Harlequin/outcasts and the birth of a new chaos god <- again winner