WH40000 - what's your opinion?

[Beorning]

True, but the question is how to get the Acolytes to the investigation area? Somebody has to message the Inquisitor and ask for assistance - how does it happen? And so on...

[CountessJess]

True, but the question is how to get the Acolytes to the investigation area? Somebody has to message the Inquisitor and ask for assistance - how does it happen? And so on...

Message by courier, or relayed by astropath.

Also, I could use some clarification on sorcery. Can only psykers do stuff like summoning demons etc.? Or could a normal person do it, providing they had some sort of spell book etc.?

Finally, do Chaos Gods or their daemons haunt people? As in, appear to them in dreams or through hallucinations? Could they manifest physically without any spell or psyker's help? Can they sense people who could be useful to them and try influencing them in some way? Can daemons possess people on their own?

Generally speaking daemons find psykers an easy conduit from which to enter the material world from the warp. It doesn't necessarily have to require a psyker, but it's easier for them, so it tends to be psykers who does the summoning/controlling/attempting to control them daemons. They don't necessarily require a spellbook - but most of them learn their naughty craft from somewhere, so usually there's a book involved. I think inscriptions, candles and strange circles and patterns are more necessary.

I think it's fair to say that there's no hard and fast rule for the way daemons interact with humans. Sometimes they possess directly, sometimes they need a ritual to enter, sometimes they persuade, sometimes they force their way in. Sometimes they seem to manifest in the human world from the strangest of things (like a guy with a bad cough suddenly exploding into nurglings) or sometimes it requires a massive concentration of warp power (like the black crusades). So there's no real guideline - because, after all, they are daemons, and by nature are completely incomprehensible to our minds. So go wild.

[Beorning]

Message by courier, or relayed by astropath.

Would an Inquisitor have their own astropath? How many astropaths are there, actually - one per planet, dozens, hundreds..?

BTW. Any ideas as to where an Inquisitor could live? Would they have some sort of big headquarters etc.?

Generally speaking daemons find psykers an easy conduit from which to enter the material world from the warp. It doesn't necessarily have to require a psyker, but it's easier for them, so it tends to be psykers who does the summoning/controlling/attempting to control them daemons. They don't necessarily require a spellbook - but most of them learn their naughty craft from somewhere, so usually there's a book involved. I think inscriptions, candles and strange circles and patterns are more necessary.

I think it's fair to say that there's no hard and fast rule for the way daemons interact with humans. Sometimes they possess directly, sometimes they need a ritual to enter, sometimes they persuade, sometimes they force their way in. Sometimes they seem to manifest in the human world from the strangest of things (like a guy with a bad cough suddenly exploding into nurglings) or sometimes it requires a massive concentration of warp power (like the black crusades). So there's no real guideline - because, after all, they are daemons, and by nature are completely incomprehensible to our minds. So go wild.

Would it be fitting with the setting, if my game had a heretic who wasn't a psyker, but who managed to summon daemons through rituals etc.? And, to whom, the daemons would be "whispering" etc. even before the summoning?

[CountessJess]

Would an Inquisitor have their own astropath? How many astropaths are there, actually - one per planet, dozens, hundreds..?

BTW. Any ideas as to where an Inquisitor could live? Would they have some sort of big headquarters etc.?

Would it be fitting with the setting, if my game had a heretic who wasn't a psyker, but who managed to summon daemons through rituals etc.? And, to whom, the daemons would be "whispering" etc. even before the summoning?

Again, there's no hard and fast rule whether an inquisitor would have an astropath, or live in a particular place. Some inquisitors have massive retinues with multiple astropaths, others have a few henchmen with no astropaths. But being inquisitors, if they need an astropath, they can just requisition one from the nearest Adeptus Astra Telepathicus station. I'd imagine that there would be more astropaths on a planet the more important the planet is, and if it's like, a major Imperial Navy shipyard, there'll be hundreds. Fluffwise there are Inquisitorial fortresses scattered across the Imperium's worlds, where resources like intel, inquisitorial stormtroopers, etc are available, so an inquisitor might very well choose to live there. Alternatively, he might attach himself to a crusade's command echelons to police the purity in the imperial forces there. Or he might rove around in his personal ship, or hire out a rogue trader's, or so on. It's all up to the inquisitor's personal tastes; they're inquisitors, they can do whatever they bloody well want.

Rituals, with some form of warp-tainted artifact of sort. Daemons can be bound to items, or warp powers might bleed and corrupt items - worlds that have been sucked into the warp often have everything on them tainted, for instance. Again, there's no real set of guidelines. Just imagine how modern day demonology in them movies, and apply the necessary 40k window dressing.

[Beorning]

Thanks, Jess! That was most helpful.

I was wondering how the astropath communication works in general. Are they, say, a service available to every person on the planet? Do they take fees? What about the confidentiality - what stops an astropath from gossiping about that one time when they were asked to relay a message to an Inquisitor etc.?

I know I may be overthinking this, but I'm curious :)

On another note: I lament my minis...  :-\

[CountessJess]

Thanks, Jess! That was most helpful.

I was wondering how the astropath communication works in general. Are they, say, a service available to every person on the planet? Do they take fees? What about the confidentiality - what stops an astropath from gossiping about that one time when they were asked to relay a message to an Inquisitor etc.?

I know I may be overthinking this, but I'm curious :)

On another note: I lament my minis...  :-\

The Eisenhorn series has the inquisitor able to hire out the services of astropaths where he goes, and go to local telepathicus stations and pay for a message to be relayed. This is all done when the inquisitor himself is incognito, so I'd imagine that as long as you have the money and aren't some hunted criminal you can get a message sent out. Similarly, if the astropath knows what's good for him/her he won't gossip about the message - after all, if word got out that he opened his mouth, the inquisition might come to check on him.

What's wrong with your minis?

[Beorning]

The Eisenhorn series has the inquisitor able to hire out the services of astropaths where he goes, and go to local telepathicus stations and pay for a message to be relayed. This is all done when the inquisitor himself is incognito, so I'd imagine that as long as you have the money and aren't some hunted criminal you can get a message sent out. Similarly, if the astropath knows what's good for him/her he won't gossip about the message - after all, if word got out that he opened his mouth, the inquisition might come to check on him.

I see. So, there *are* astropath stations? It's that kind of detail I could use...

What's wrong with your minis?

I have no time or drive to paint them... Not to mention the money issues. But mostly it's about time - in February, I got stuck painting the penitent engine and didn't finish it. And I just have time to paint anything else, either...

[CountessJess]

I see. So, there *are* astropath stations? It's that kind of detail I could use...

I have no time or drive to paint them... Not to mention the money issues. But mostly it's about time - in February, I got stuck painting the penitent engine and didn't finish it. And I just have time to paint anything else, either...

Astropath stations are definitely a thing. Again, it's probably limited to the nobility, and the imperium administration, but it's definitely a thing.

And there's no need to rush painting if you don't feel like it =) take your time. The models aren't going anywhere.

[Beorning]

Astropath stations are definitely a thing. Again, it's probably limited to the nobility, and the imperium administration, but it's definitely a thing.

For a moment, I imagined something like a modern post office... ;)

And there's no need to rush painting if you don't feel like it =) take your time. The models aren't going anywhere.

What I fear is that the interest in all gone and that I may not be able to rekindle it... Which would make the minis another hobby I started and abandoned. Similarly how I have a ton of RPG books I can't find time to play / run...  >:(

I haven't painted anything for three months now... My tiny army is standing at the shelf and making me feel annoyed with myself. It kind of sucks to give up. On the other hand, there's only so much time (and money! money!!!) I can spare. Painting is fun, but the amount of time that goes into this is staggering. I don't dare to continue...

Overall, I'm stuck. Can't decide if I want to continue with the hobby. Grrrr.

[TheGlyphstone]

No, definitely not. They're more or less exclusive to the nobility and administrators for the brutally practical reason that few ordinary citizens would have any reason to want to sent an interstellar mission, and fewer still would be able to afford it - not that they're all bone-crushingly poor, just that the fees involved would be astronomically (pun intended) expensive.

As for the minis...take your time. Don't buy anything new until your existing minis are painted. Paint them one at a time whenever you just want to sit down and enjoy it for a little bit. Play with unpainted minis if there's a local store.

[CountessJess]

What I fear is that the interest in all gone and that I may not be able to rekindle it... Which would make the minis another hobby I started and abandoned. Similarly how I have a ton of RPG books I can't find time to play / run...  >:(

I haven't painted anything for three months now... My tiny army is standing at the shelf and making me feel annoyed with myself. It kind of sucks to give up. On the other hand, there's only so much time (and money! money!!!) I can spare. Painting is fun, but the amount of time that goes into this is staggering. I don't dare to continue...

Overall, I'm stuck. Can't decide if I want to continue with the hobby. Grrrr.

It sounds like you're a little burned out. Take a break =) come back in a few months and start painting again!

[Beorning]

Thanks for advice, guys :)

What I'm fearing is that I'm not burning out a little, but that I've lost interest altogether and that it won't ever come back. It happened to me before - I tried out some hobbies, liked them, but didn't stick with them... and, eventually, I never came back to them.

Crap. It sucks not knowing what I actually like doing...

[HairyHeretic]

You can come back to 40k years later and still pick up where you left off though. I haven't played regularly since I think early 5th edition, but I still think of myself as a 40k player.

[consortium11]

You can come back to 40k years later and still pick up where you left off though. I haven't played regularly since I think early 5th edition, but I still think of myself as a 40k player.

That's basically me as well; I haven't played any Warhammer (either 40K, Fantasy or even the specialist games) for years... basically around the time the Tau came out. Yet while I still don't still think of myself as a player I've been able to contribute to this thread and, if the big did hit me, I could quite easily dust off my models and go down to the store for a quick game or seven.

[Beorning]

Hm.

On another note - this hobby kind of got into my head... You know what I thought when I first saw the opening to Black Sails?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFTcA4QLHw0

"Minis! Beautiful plastic minis!"  ;D

[Beorning]

On more WH40K-related note: I just looked through those new Mechanicus minis GW recently introduced. Any ideas as to why they are so expensive? There's not a single cheap model in that army...

[Beorning]

I had a very good day yesterday... thanks to you, guys, I actually sat down and did some painting again  :-) I primed two more Sisters and made some progress on the penitent engine. It looks that I'm getting close to completing it.

The most important thing is that I realized that yes, I really do like painting! And that I still want to do this :)

Something else... I was thinking on my DH adventure today at work and I started to wonder: are there cameras (photo and video) in this universe? Also, are there planets with computer networks similar to the Internet?

[CountessJess]

That's great to hear =)

I don't think there are a lot of cameras, at least, they're not widespread in civilian use. Internet, I'm pretty sure, is a big no-no.

[Wajin]

There were cameras during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy, being used by remembrancers, but I don't think there are many left. I think the Dark Angels have some installed in the Rock, but considering how secretive and seditious those bastards guys are, I wouldn't think it too much on it if they just hadn't told anyone theirs still worked.

On the note of Internet and machines in general, the Imperium is VERY concerned about machines working together with other machines, after the Iron War, and with Machine Spirits being as tedious to work with, and as stubborn as they can be, I can't imagine that there are any sort of vast information sharing systems, and if there is, they're in the hands of the Inquisition of the Mechanicus.

http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Machine_Spirit While 1d4chan is generally a rather comedic look at the WH40k universe, this article is rather good at explaining some aspects of technology in the 40th millennium

[deadmanshand]

Pict Recorders are extremely common full video recorders with holographic playback capabilities. Data Slates are the single most common way for people to get information and they are tablets that connect to planetary news and entertainment networks. So yes there is an internet on planets that can support it and cameras are perfectly common. It's still a sci-fi setting. The average person still has access to a much higher level of technology than we do. The books are very explicit about this.

[Wajin]

Pict Recorders are extremely common full video recorders with holographic playback capabilities. Data Slates are the single most common way for people to get information and they are tablets that connect to planetary news and entertainment networks. So yes there is an internet on planets that can support it and cameras are perfectly common. It's still a sci-fi setting. The average person still has access to a much higher level of technology than we do. The books are very explicit about this.

I stand corrected, always happy to be proven wrong

[Beorning]

Thanks, guys. Anybody else willing to chime in on these technical matters?

I admit that one of the things I have trouble with when it comes to this setting is picturing the technology available. I tend to imagine this world as techno-medieval, with uneducated people living among sparse and decaying machines... but then, some of you say that these people have computers, cameras etc. On the other hand, some illustrations also show people reading by candles etc. So, I really don't know what this world is like...  :-\

I really wish there was some comprehensive list of what technologies are available, which are banned and which are lost or exist only as archaeotech...

That's great to hear =)

I did some more painting today. Two more pieces finished! Now I only have to do the flames on one of the flamers and paint the piece with pilot. Then, assembly!

... which may be tricky and involve a lot of drilling...

[TheGlyphstone]

Remember what we said earlier in the thread about there being no 'average' in a society this big? That applies to technology too. There are advanced, high-tech worlds with sci-fi technology available everywhere. There are more mundane worlds that pretty much match our current tech but with spaceships and stuff. There are tight-packed hive worlds that would fit perfectly into a cyberpunk environment. There are entire planets devoted purely to farming and animal husbandry, where the peasants spend their entire lives as farmers. There are strict religious shrine worlds were technology is restricted and people read by candle-light. There are primitive, savage feral worlds where the inhabitants are pre-industrial or outright cavemen in fearful worship of the sky gods.

Pick any level of technology along the spectrum, and you will have a planet where that is appropriate.

[deadmanshand]

The tech varies from world to world. Some worlds are higher than anything that we have today across the board. Some worlds are locked in medieval times riding horses and reading by candlelight. Others have scrapheap scavenged tech in the ruins of the apocalypse that blasted their world. And anything and everything in between. There are millions of worlds and there is no standard tech level. Decide what kind of tech you want available and make a world that would have that.

What Glyphstone ninja'd posted while I was typng.

[Beorning]

Hm. But how to square this "the tech level is whatever you want" approach with the setting's assumption that most of the people across the empire don't know too much about science and technology, as these things are controlled by Mechanicus? Also, in the WH40K RPGs, quite a lot of gear is described as being scarce or even more rare. So, what I get from this is that there are no worlds so advanced that you can buy a bolter there on every street corner...