Need Help Writing Necrons

[Fat Necron]

Greetings and salutations everyone, I have come seeking the wisdom and guidance of experienced 40K fandom writers.

 

I've been musing on some rather heretical, lore breaking Necron story ideas yet I'm not sure how exactly to portray them. My own head cannon leans towards one way, however I am already deviating enough as it is.

 

I am aware they are soulless (Mostly) automatons and some are more colorful than others. Most are frenzied lunatics, others are subtle conspirators. These things have an implication of emotion, and from my understanding, the vast majority are stripped of that.

 

So sighting the above, I've thought up some fairly interesting compromises for my Necrons and established cannon.

 

Destroyers: The uber kill deathbot in codexs is a major pet peeve for me. So my interpretation is they're Speciests. I'm not sure if that's a word but I'm at a loss for a better term. Anyway, the majority of Destroyers have fully immersed themselves, in what they refer to as Resurgence. It's a phrase that was coined to sorta rever their present state, and reflect on what was given and taken. Thugh they aren't riddled with tumors, cancers, whatever have you, they're still alive aeons later.

So in saying that, I understand Necrons have no emotion. So when referring to this Resurgence there's wide spread indifference. They're unsure how to feel or react, if they should emulate an emotion. Biotransference is a touchy subject but regardless, those sentient to form a basic opinion, might percieve the Biotransference, or Resurgence by Destroyers as a blessing. It's made them immortal, free of afflictions, and virtually indomitable. And while others disagree, the Destroyer believes Biotransference was for the better.

 

What further sets them apart is a hardwired patriotism, a stoic affection for all Necrons. The wars committed, to them, is a war of might. Humans, Eldar, Tau, Orks, anything deviating from the Necron form is an obstacle to the coming Necron Empire. However don't take this as malice. It's a belief, perception, the way of things. Necrons, to a destroyer, are the perceived masters of this galaxy. So while they'll heed their masters wishes and spare those requested to be, all others will be eradicated.

 

Destroyer Lords: While the same personality I'm using for Destroyers is applicable to their lords, I feel a bit more should be expanded upon. The Lords themselves aren't the typical Necron whose barely come to a consensus. Destroyers Lords are thoughtful Necrons, perhaps the sanest among their kind. To them, Necrons are unquestionably superior but there's more to the tale. Some are veterans who remember the War in Heaven, former Necron Lords, or Destroyers who, by either exposure or learning, ascended the ranks.

 

To demonstrate, the Destroyer Lord I am writing about is named Unak. He's constantly expannding his tactical acumen by incorporating other, less sentient Necron into is form. By doing this he's able to devise strategies, responses, and counter measures to his greatest foe; the Tyranids.

This is particularly unique because it's a show of ingenuity. He's become more introspective in the process, often debating his own beliefs, subconsciously hoping for challenge. Don't take this as wanting to be disproven; it's What quite the contrary. What he wants is validation outside his fellow Destroyers, from outside the Necron species. The Tyranids threaten this almost religious belief in preordained supremacy.

 

And that's the crux, Destroyers Lords can have an equivalent to what we humans call 'Existential Crisis'. They're on the cusp of true, emotion rich sentience but just not there. Like Unak, the unity and cohesion Tyranids so often display challenges his dominant creed-- All Necrons are superior. Another Destroyer Lord might not have the same dilemma yet have him/her sit through a beheading. The ceremony will perplex them, perhaps make them curious.

 

It's an inability to sympathize and lean so heavily on their established beliefs that make a Destroyer Lord. Yes they're still killer robots but it's an attempt to add layers over that shallow surface.

 

Crypteks: Sum it up, they were the former scientests, doctors, and researchers prior to Biotransference. What's common among them, collectively, is an insatiable curiosity. I'll spin up some examples.

 

The biological structural similarities between humans and Necrons is uncanny. A Cryptek might investigate further, diassecting and evaluting the relationship humans might have with his/her former self.

Two streets down another Cryptek is a former Engineer, thus feels compelled to investigate a Necron Warriors obvious lack of sentientce. He'll deconstruct, reconstruct, add and subtract from the AI constituting yet cannot discern the cause.

 

Both Crypteks share their findings, and lack thereof, over a neural network makng it accessible to any mildly interested parties.

 

A third Cryptek approaches the Biologist and Engineer Crypteks and suggests grafting the Warrior onto the human... And thus, the cycle of curiosity will continue on and on from there.

 

As seen above, it's all about curiosity and discovery. That's my perceived purpose for an emotionless killer robot. A complete lack of ethical code which leads them into some interesting situations.

 

Necron Warriors: Lastly, from the personality traits I've cooked up is the Warrior. Barely cogniscent of their surroundings and driven by an AI. This Ai, which is arguably their souls, enacts orders given with the utmost priorities. A slew of algorithms determines it's actions, responses, so on and so forth. Where the Warrior deviates is its instincts. For instance, scanners can't detect a cloaked vehicle. The silouette is there, it's right in front of him but the algorithms refuse to register it. The Warrior will override the prescribed algorithms and act on instnct.

 

What the Warrior knows is its objective. That objective becomes its purpose. The sophisticate AI can only perform so much. When a perceived fault is seen within a proposed action, like striding through a killzone, the Warrior will seek an alternative route. The killzone could render it inoperable, thus incapable of performing its objectve. So now we extend this to a hundred Warriors. Their purpose is universal, so if one succeeds, they al succeed. So the hundred will brave the killzone where one would seek another path

 

Please critique the personalities I presented and suggest any changes. Please note that I am purposefully going against established lore. Personally it's hollow and leaves much to be desired.

 

I implore anyone to share their own head cannon on how Necrons present themselves. This topic is difficult so don't be under any illusion that head cannon isn't welcome; it's wanted.

 

Bonus if you share any stories as I'd love to read any interpretations of Necrons.