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Number of worlds conquered during the Great Crusade?


malika666

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Ok, this is something that has been bugging me for a while in the Horus Heresy novels. If today's Imperium consists of a million worlds, and the pre-Heresy Imperium had two million as some imply, why are the planet names in the novels so "low"? With this I mean the following. For example Horus' Expedition Fleet was the 63rd, if I recall correctly the amount of worlds they brought into compliance was the highest, but in the novels leading right to the Heresy they seem to be stuck at world no. 19. What's up with that?

 

Wouldn't it be more fitting to have planets such as Sixty-Three-Twelve-Thousand-Twenty-Five (63-12025) for example?

Yes, realistically a Legion should have conquered about 30,000 worlds over the course of the 200 years of the Great Crusade (about 150 per year), depending on how many worlds willingly joined the Imperium or how many were conquered by non-Astartes forces.

I don't think many fleets contained a whole Legion, besides, they might have started naming their worlds again after Ullanor when the new expeditions were drawn up.

 

Thats how i like to think of it anyway.

 

So 63 - 19 would be the 19th world that the new 63rd expedition had conquered after their formation; after Ullanor.

There were 4000 something expedition fleets and only 20 Legions, so yeah, not many fleets contained entire Legions. <_<

 

63-19 after Ullanor, perhaps, but it kind of strikes me as odd to do that. I mean, wouldn't there already be other worlds who have those designations? Wouldn't that kind of...well...get confusing?

Ok, this is something that has been bugging me for a while in the Horus Heresy novels. If today's Imperium consists of a million worlds, and the pre-Heresy Imperium had two million as some imply, why are the planet names in the novels so "low"? With this I mean the following. For example Horus' Expedition Fleet was the 63rd, if I recall correctly the amount of worlds they brought into compliance was the highest, but in the novels leading right to the Heresy they seem to be stuck at world no. 19. What's up with that?

 

Wouldn't it be more fitting to have planets such as Sixty-Three-Twelve-Thousand-Twenty-Five (63-12025) for example?

 

Maybe only inhabited/inhabitable worlds actually count? Barren rocks and gas worlds might not have been listed as being "brought into compliance" because there was nothing there to bring into compliance?

I don't think many fleets contained a whole Legion, besides, they might have started naming their worlds again after Ullanor when the new expeditions were drawn up.

 

Thats how i like to think of it anyway.

 

So 63 - 19 would be the 19th world that the new 63rd expedition had conquered after their formation; after Ullanor.

 

I think this is the best explanation. It is odd, however there weren't enough Astartes to be spread amongst every single fleet. The Imperial Army did most of the work I'd say with the Astartes doing the heavy lifting.

Maybe only inhabited/inhabitable worlds actually count? Barren rocks and gas worlds might not have been listed as being "brought into compliance" because there was nothing there to bring into compliance?

But barren rocks and gas worlds seem to be very rare in the 40k universe. Look at the Battlefleet Gothic manual for example, if I'm not mistaken there were a dozen forgeworlds, the same number of hive worlds and countless civilized worlds. I guess the Imperium would number them all, would make it easier for their references/administration.

 

I think this is the best explanation. It is odd, however there weren't enough Astartes to be spread amongst every single fleet. The Imperial Army didn't most of the work I'd say with the Astartes doing the heavy lifting.

But you don't need Astartes to conquer the universe. I think most fleets didn't even have Astartes in them, meaning that most work has been done by the Imperial Army. However, since the Space Marines are GW/BL/Imperium's poster boys they get whole books and what not dedicated to their conquests, otherwise it wouldn't really sell...

 

MEcorps over at Warseer had an interesting answer:

As for planetary naming conventions. It seems most likely, to me anyway, that as each expedition changes composition it would also change names. So a fleet might conquer 13 worlds but then two of its ships will leave for refitting and three battle-barges will show up and it will be called something else. This 'new' fleet goes on to conquer 10 worlds before the Marines are called away again and it is given yet another new name. Thus certain individuals or ships could be present at the conquest of numerous world's while their current fleet is only on it's third or something. This, combined with the scattered nature of the legions would allow for the Sons of Horus to have conquered the most worlds (or not see above) whilst having Horus's current expedition only be at world nineteen.

 

Not to mention that conventions and consistency are not really the Imperium's strongest points.

 

Food for thought...

As I understand it the fleets were constantly reformed and reassigned. The 63 may have only done 19 worlds but how many did the Luna wolves do before the 63rd?

I figure this is also the only explanation as to how, with over 4000 fleets in operation, we have ended up with two 28th expedition fleets from the same BL author. Thousand sons lost their fleet at about the same time Emperor's Children started out on their own.

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