"Warp? What Warp?"

[Olgerth Istaarn]

It's the 41st Millennium.

 

Imperial Truth doesn't exist.

Chaos and its servants are in abundance.

Enemy psykers and friendly psykers are commonplace.

The war has been fought for millennia.

 

Now, we all know that the Wolves have their traditions and quirks, but they aren't stupid. They aren't isolationist - well, not any more than any other relatively sane Chapter. They are quite "well traveled". The "longest fangs" have seen it all, fought it all, and killed it all too.

 

How and why is it, then, that the Rune Priests maintain their blissful ignorance (or intentional denial) of their powers stemming from the Warp? By Year 40,000, it is abundantly clear that if it doesn't quite mesh with reality, it comes from the Warp. There are no "spirits of the storm" or "spirits of the planet" or anything else of the sort; there's only the Warp and the myriad ways you can channel it (and hope that your brain doesn't explode).

 

Yet to the Rune Priests their powers stem from the magic stones and enchanted bones and wind and rain and storms. Anything else is foul and unclean witchery, just like what those dastardly Thousand Sons did. Which is of course complete baloney, but they stick to their guns. The question is, why? Almighty power of tradition?

[LoneSniperSG]

There are no "spirits of the storm" or "spirits of the planet" or anything else of the sort;

We don't know that. Alot of the shamanistic stuff of the Wolves is not guaranteed USDA Warp-crazy. We barely know anything about the spiritual side of 40k (Ghosts and spirits and such) to validate any sort of argument against it.

 

We're talking about a universe where science is suspicion. Science can barely begin to explain the Warp, and I think the ways of the Space Wolves are far better for dealing with its insanity. No one but the Wolves have been able to keep an assault force consistently fighting in the Eye of Terror.

 

Believe in yourself, Believe in your brothers, believe in the ancestors who watch you from the Hall of Russ, and believe in mother Fenris' loving embrace. That's about the sum of it.

 

Belief is the key to Space Wolves power. For crying out loud, the boys wear wolf-tail talismans that actually work just because they BELIEVE it does. It's almost Orky.

[Sarapham]

If the Orks have taught us anything it is that in that Universe anything can be true as long as there is enough belief in it.

[The Son of Russ]

Well said brother.

 

 

I honestly believe the space wolves just live off the land, and see things as they see it.

[Adarul Greystalker]

If you look at Prospero Burns, it's obvious that the rune priests actually know that psychic power comes from the warp. They also know that their charms, runes, and talismans really work. Rune Priest Helwinter spoke about the difference between the rune priests and the Thousand Sons sorcerors as being control. The rune priests believed that the Thousand Sons were practicing dangerous arts that came dangerously close to inviting in the influence of chaos. On the other hand, the powers used by the rune priests utilized highly ritualized, tried-and-true, traditional methods which are known to be safe simply because they've been in use for so long. Simply because they don't talk about the warp in scientific terms, we shouldn't assume that they don't understand it. The rune priests definitely do understand it, but they use mythical language and illustrations to describe things that don't have perfect scientific explanations (far from it, in fact) because in a way, the mythical, traditional Fenrisian view of the warp is more complete and elegant.

 

Honestly, the Space Wolves' use of runes and talismans and ritual is very similar to the way that the eldar interact with the warp. Those on the path of the seer utilize their psychic powers through runes, much in the way that rune priests do. It may seem to a layman as though the rune has the power and is simply used by the seer or at least that the rune enables the seer to use a certain psychic power, but in reality, eldar use the runes to limit themselves. Eldar farseers are capable of channeling their substantial psychic power in myriad ways, but to do so outside of the protection of a craftworld's infinity circuit or similar psychic protection would be to invite destruction. Therefore, the seers learn to associate powers with their representative runes and manifest their effects through these runes. In this way, the seer keeps his/her mind focused on the specific power he/she wants to use and avoids any less controlled discharge of psychic energy which could attract unwanted attention from the warp. Just as the eldar strictly limit themselves while on the path of the seer, rune priests use devices to control their own use of psychic power, and yes, this does represent a very different kind of practice from what the Thousand Sons did.

[LoneSniperSG]

Just as the eldar strictly limit themselves while on the path of the seer, rune priests use devices to control their own use of psychic power, and yes, this does represent a very different kind of practice from what the Thousand Sons did.

QFT. The Rune Priest methodology may also be reflected in how much more devastating their powers can be compared to other Marine psykers in the game. As said above, having a focal point like a runestone allows them greater concentration on the desired effect while mitigating loss of control.

 

Thousand Sons and others like Librarians, Sanctioned Psykers and Primaris Psykers rely more on their own thoughts for command and control. A moment of misguided thought can mean utter devastation to the psyker in question, and suddenly he goes from an effigy of righteous power representing the Emperor to a gibbering daemon.

[Wulfebane]

Everyone knows Jesus was an alien. And all the wings painted on angels were just an allegorical means of illustrating the power of flight that aliens had without comprehending their technology. It's the power of tradition that keeps theology alive today. ;)

[TiguriusX]

Everyone knows Jesus was an alien. And all the wings painted on angels were just an allegorical means of illustrating the power of flight that aliens had without comprehending their technology. It's the power of tradition that keeps theology alive today. :D

 

Erich von Däniken would be proud

 

How and why is it, then, that the Rune Priests maintain their blissful ignorance (or intentional denial) of their powers stemming from the Warp? By Year 40,000, it is abundantly clear that if it doesn't quite mesh with reality, it comes from the Warp. There are no "spirits of the storm" or "spirits of the planet" or anything else of the sort; there's only the Warp and the myriad ways you can channel it (and hope that your brain doesn't explode).

 

Yet to the Rune Priests their powers stem from the magic stones and enchanted bones and wind and rain and storms. Anything else is foul and unclean witchery, just like what those dastardly Thousand Sons did. Which is of course complete baloney, but they stick to their guns. The question is, why? Almighty power of tradition?

I know the fluff has a tendency to change but my last thorough reading of the subject basically told me the "Warp" is a physical reflection and physical manifestation of the collected consciousness of the universe. It is currently overrun with Chaos/Daemons because humanity has a penchant for dark thoughts.

 

But...if you could get everyone focusing on "good" thoughts it would be represented as well. That is part of the support for the Emperor reborn as a Warp God theory anyway (or the Chaos entity for Order but that is too much of a side discussion...)

 

The point is belief is enough to make something real as far as the warp is concerned. The Orks believe their weapons work and red makes things faster. These are the rules of the WH40k sci fi world.

 

If our RPs have enough faith in the safety provided by adhering to rituals and runes it can manifest as reality due to their beliefs.

[Wysten]

Aye, I think the difference is not in that they draw on the warp, but simply how they do it. The ritrals themselves seem to somehow remove themselves from the equastion when drawing on the warp, so that they have better safety when drawing on it. In truth, I think they are simply drawing off the most postive aspects of the warp by believing they are drawing on the forces of nature itself which probably fits in well, as apposed to making deals with demons themselves as the 1000 Sons did.

[Adarul Greystalker]

I think this focus on orky technology as proof that just believing in something can make it real is overblown. The reason that orks can make their tech work despite the obvious fact that it shouldn't is because they believe that it should and they have a racial collective psychic energy known as the power of the waaagh. The reason that orks get stronger and tougher and angrier when they gather in large numbers and bend their intentions toward war is because of this energy. It's the same thing that wierdboyz channel into their psychic powers and it's same reason why orks are able to involuntarily and unknowingly use the warp to make their tech work.

 

Tau, on the other hand, have no influence on the warp at all. If a bunch of fire warriors picked up ork shootas and tried to will them into firing, do you think that would work for them? Of course not. It's not simply the belief in something that makes it work for the orks. It's the psychic effect that that belief has through the power of the waaagh. Other races have technology that works because of their psychic power (eldar have no physical triggers on their guns, after all), but that tech is either built cunningly to attune to certain psychic impulses of the wielder, or it requires a conscious effort to use.

 

As for Space Wolf runes and talismans, they have a different kind of power. I've already established that I think that rune priests use runes in the same way that eldar farseers do as a means of control (and I've cited an example in text where ritual is equated with control), but it's likely that the runes and inscriptions Space Wolves wear and keep with them have some power in and of themselves. In the same way that purity seals and the symbols of aversion from Prospero Burns ward away evil through symbolism, runes probably work as a rudimentary kind of magic - like a shamanistic version of the sorcerous sigils and daemonic circles used by chaos worshippers. As for the wolf tail talismans and how they protect Space Wolves from the warp, the codex states that it is the Fenrisians' faith in the talismans that has power enough to protect them. This makes sense, for other faithful individuals are also protected from the warp, likely because their unwavering resolve somehow makes them more resistant. Think of the sisters of battle and their 5+ save against psychic powers. Wolf tail talismans give us the same thing, except that our faith has to be "amplified" by pagan talismans.

[Wulfebane]

As for the wolf tail talismans and how they protect Space Wolves from the warp, the codex states that it is the Fenrisians' faith in the talismans that has power enough to protect them. This makes sense, for other faithful individuals are also protected from the warp, likely because their unwavering resolve somehow makes them more resistant. Think of the sisters of battle and their 5+ save against psychic powers. Wolf tail talismans give us the same thing, except that our faith has to be "amplified" by pagan talismans.

 

Christians wear crosses, Jews wear stars, etc... there are pendants of patron saints for damn near everything. Nordic runes are worn for strength, vitality, fertility, etc. Every culture on earth has some form of talisman in use to link them to their faiths/beliefs and most often view them as some sort of ward against or benefit toward something. Rune Priest powers should be no different, just more.