What's your headcanon?

[Codex Grey]

In a recent topic about realism in equipment design, it became clear that we all have different notions of what is acceptable, silly in good way, silly in a bad way, what is cool, what is just dumb, etc.

 

The great thing about the hobby is that even if you're not creating a homebrew sub-faction, you are still free to modify the universe to your will and preferences (as long as you follow the rules on the gaming side of the hobby.)

 

So I was wondering what additions or changes to the established 40k universe do you consider canon in your head?

 

EDIT 1: I'm especially interested in cool and creative additions that both adds to the established universe while also "fixing" aspects you're not too fond of, without just ignoring those aspects.

 

An example that I recently added to my headcanon is the function of Space Marine Ancients, or their banners specifically.

I've always thought standard bearers were silly. Partly in a good way as it feeds into the medieval aspects of space marine chapters and banners can look pretty cool. On the other hand, I find it hard to justify in my head why they would bring these supposedly priceless relics into battle only for them to be torn apart by a few bullets. Do the banners really provide such a boost to morale that it becomes worth it? To me this works for the more zealous and impractical chapters, but in general it feel a bit weird.

 

So in my mind, space marine (and maybe other faction's) banners are mini shield generators of some sort, providing additional protection to a command squad or a key objective that needs to be held at all cost. These shield generators are small enough to be carried by a marine, but big enough to put on a pole, then decorated over time with banners and such, thereby attaining symbolic value as well.

 

EDIT 2: In hindsight, I realize now that this topic might just turn into another place to vent frustrations, which, for what it's worth, was not my intention. I feel we have enough of those around here so hopefully we can avoid too much of that.

 

EDIT 3: And please, comment and build on other peoples ideas and thoughts, but pretty please, don't derail the topic into a battleground.

Edited May 23, 2022 by Codex Grey

[LameBeard]

I do a fair bit of ignoring the bits of lore I don’t like. But I guess you are thinking about things that are represented on the tabletop? Edited May 21, 2022 by LameBeard

[Slave to Darkness]

I ignore how 3 new implants make you grow another couple of feet, but I ignore the return of Guillliman, him talking to the Emperor, Primaris and all that, added nothing to the story, same :cuss different day. 

 

I mean c'mon, not a single Inquisitor out there that thinks 'hey blues a bit sus'?? Bloody toilet seat wearing gloryboy mary sue. *breathes into paper bag* But Ill get off my soapbox now, had me rant and now Im gonna have a ice cuppa tea. :) 

[gideon stargreave]

I don't like any big 40k stories, never really have, what I do like is the setting, the art, the worlds, so for me, stories about abaddon, or roboute or whoever are just myths, bedtime stories, inspirational material, like "hello" magazine for the various factions. Commander farsight is a whispered rumor for tau laborers.

Then I can make my army how I want it, tell stories about My dudes. My head cannon then (like others on this forum) is that Canon is like "suggested servings" on food packaging, sure you can make a burger with your mincemeat, but why not a burrito

[Codex Grey]

I edited the original post to clarify my intentions with the topic.

 

Simply ignoring things in the established lore is a completely valid way of enjoying 40k and it's something I do a lot as well.

 

I guess I'm looking for cool and creative "fixes" to the problems people have with the universe without simply ignoring stuff.

 

The title of this topic might not be the best for what I'm looking for either, so any suggestions for a better topic title would be nice.

Edited May 21, 2022 by Codex Grey

[Valkia the Bloody]

I am a scientist by training and work at a lab for molecular biology.

Most of the fluff for creating super soldiers and space marines frankly is made up by people who had no clue (and maybe a bit of an inferiority complex?) and is complete BS.

Alone the rule that no females cannot be made into Space Marines...

we are talking about a tiny mostly useless Y chromosome, which is the only genetic difference between genders, and someone is telling me, the mighty Emperor was not able to supplement that?

Let alone the fact that with enough hormone treatments you can very well make any sex into a buff male,if  started soon enough (and this is what Space Marine creation is about).

Plus, female bodies are more resistant to the trials and challenges of space and low gravity (as was found out since they use female astronauts).

Plus, the Imperium of Man is never wasteful and does not care where the bodies and raw materials come from.

 

So yeah, I am pretty sure that half of the Space Marines out there basically started out as female raw material, changed and transformed into the image decreed by the Emperor.

Most of the Marines will not even remember this fact after indoctrination.

THAT is the huge big secret the Imperium is hiding.

:p

 

So yeah, that is my own (VERY controversial!)  personal head canon that I can justify with my scientific knowledge.

[Cpt_Reaper]

I had to think about it for a moment. I realised I've headcanoned a few things:

• Plasma guns and Autocannons are rare for the Guard, like they were mentioned to be in 3rd. Nothing said they weren't since then, so regiments than bring a lot of both are either blessed or lucky.
• The Ordo Astartes and the Ordo Hereticus don't get along. The former are always telling the latter to not mess with their jurisdiction, and the latter say the former shouldn't exist because Heresy is their jurisdiction.
• Blood Ravens don't have any relics belonging to other Chapters. None gifted or stolen. That was a game mechanic and nothing more.
• Battle Barge is both a class and model. You can have a Mars-pattern Battle Barge, but also have a vessel designated a Battle Barge because of its role.
• lasguns/cannons have no recoil. Neither do plasma weapons.

If I think of any more I will add them.

[Slave to Darkness]

 

I am a scientist by training and work at a lab for molecular biology.

Most of the fluff for creating super soldiers and space marines frankly is made up by people who had no clue (and maybe a bit of an inferiority complex?) and is complete BS.

Alone the rule that no females cannot be made into Space Marines...

we are talking about a tiny mostly useless Y chromosome, which is the only genetic difference between genders, and someone is telling me, the mighty Emperor was not able to supplement that?

Let alone the fact that with enough hormone treatments you can very well make any sex into a buff male,if  started soon enough (and this is what Space Marine creation is about).

Plus, female bodies are more resistant to the trials and challenges of space and low gravity (as was found out since they use female astronauts).

Plus, the Imperium of Man is never wasteful and does not care where the bodies and raw materials come from.

 

So yeah, I am pretty sure that half of the Space Marines out there basically started out as female raw material, changed and transformed into the image decreed by the Emperor.

Most of the Marines will not even remember this fact after indoctrination.

THAT is the huge big secret the Imperium is hiding.

 

So yeah, that is my own (VERY controversial!)  personal head canon that I can justify with my scientific knowledge.

and thats an argument for female marines I can get behind, as its based in science and not just 'muh representation for the sake of it'. End of the day with all the implants etc marines get can they even be called human? I wouldnt even say your take is controversial as it IS based in science. But this is a slippery slope to a thread melting so swiftly moving on... 

 

Marine Ancients and their flags, to me its like the Crusaders and the one true cross, 'dont fear lads, we have the cross with us so we cant fail!!' *dies* or that scene in Vikings when they are attacking paris and that woman hangs that duvet cover over the wall to make the French fight harder. Yes they are both god fearing christians so you could put it down to religions zealotry but the Imperium is basically space catholics so everybody is a believer to some extent. But them being literal power generators or somesuch to get the same effect is a pretty good take actually, never thought about it like that. 

 

 

• lasguns/cannons have no recoil. Neither do plasma weapons.

 

^^THIS!!!!

Edited May 21, 2022 by Slave to Darkness

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

My new head cannon is a new theory.

 

The lost legions and primarchs, lead and created a separate human empire, that fended off the emperor, and were deleted from history to prevent others from getting any ideas.

Meanwhile the Horus heresy was a failure so they kept it in the history as a warning to other potential rebels.

[Magos Takatus]

I am a scientist by training and work at a lab for molecular biology.

Most of the fluff for creating super soldiers and space marines frankly is made up by people who had no clue (and maybe a bit of an inferiority complex?) and is complete BS.

Alone the rule that no females cannot be made into Space Marines...

we are talking about a tiny mostly useless Y chromosome, which is the only genetic difference between genders, and someone is telling me, the mighty Emperor was not able to supplement that?

Let alone the fact that with enough hormone treatments you can very well make any sex into a buff male,if  started soon enough (and this is what Space Marine creation is about).

Plus, female bodies are more resistant to the trials and challenges of space and low gravity (as was found out since they use female astronauts).

Plus, the Imperium of Man is never wasteful and does not care where the bodies and raw materials come from.

 

So yeah, I am pretty sure that half of the Space Marines out there basically started out as female raw material, changed and transformed into the image decreed by the Emperor.

Most of the Marines will not even remember this fact after indoctrination.

THAT is the huge big secret the Imperium is hiding.

 

So yeah, that is my own (VERY controversial!)  personal head canon that I can justify with my scientific knowledge.

Yeah, that works just fine for me. I guess it's just a long-running thing that they don't feel they can retcon now?

 

The biggest one I can think of now is putting a lot less emphasis on the Ork Waaagh phenomenon. Specifically the lore of an unreliable in-universe tech priest that has theorized that Ork technology does not function without Ork psychic intervention. I simply ignore the meme that has Flanderized this snippet into Orks being able to make a box full of screws and bullets function as a gun if enough Orks believe it to be so. The existence of the Armageddon Ork Hunters that successfully wield Ork weapons show that this theory doesn't hold water. I prefer to think that the Ork psychic phenomenon is the WD-40 that prevents an Ork Battlewagon for seizing up but it won't make a functionally impossible gun fire. Otherwise the Imperium would be overrun with carboard boxes with "Stompa" written on the side.

[phandaal]

 

stuff

and thats an argument for female marines I can get behind, as its based in science and not just 'muh representation for the sake of it'. End of the day with all the implants etc marines get can they even be called human? I wouldnt even say your take is controversial as it IS based in science. But this is a slippery slope to a thread melting so swiftly moving on... 

 

 

Aspirants are usually chosen based on trials of strength or feats of strength that occur around age 12 or 13, up to around age 18 at the late end of the range. Unfortunately for Science, that means boys will be the overwhelming winning majority of those trials.

 

So even if the genetic requirement for creating Space Marines is disregarded for head canon, we would at most end up with edge cases from planets where the human genome diverged to the point that females are stronger than males.

 

But yeah, this topic is gonna get the thread locked, or at least these comments will be deleted.

[Slave to Darkness]

 

Yeah, that works just fine for me. I guess it's just a long-running thing that they don't feel they can retcon now?

 

The biggest one I can think of now is putting a lot less emphasis on the Ork Waaagh phenomenon. Specifically the lore of an unreliable in-universe tech priest that has theorized that Ork technology does not function without Ork psychic intervention. I simply ignore the meme that has Flanderized this snippet into Orks being able to make a box full of screws and bullets function as a gun if enough Orks believe it to be so. The existence of the Armageddon Ork Hunters that successfully wield Ork weapons show that this theory doesn't hold water. I prefer to think that the Ork psychic phenomenon is the WD-40 that prevents an Ork Battlewagon for seizing up but it won't make a functionally impossible gun fire. Otherwise the Imperium would be overrun with carboard boxes with "Stompa" written on the side.

 

I just think of that like wiring a plug wrong, the wires and fuse are all there, just in the wrong place, its not just a plug with a bit of paper saying 'lotz of wattz' inside. 

[Slave to Darkness]

 

 

stuff

and thats an argument for female marines I can get behind, as its based in science and not just 'muh representation for the sake of it'. End of the day with all the implants etc marines get can they even be called human? I wouldnt even say your take is controversial as it IS based in science. But this is a slippery slope to a thread melting so swiftly moving on... 

 

 

Aspirants are usually chosen based on trials of strength or feats of strength that occur around age 12 or 13, up to around age 18 at the late end of the range. Unfortunately for Science, that means boys will be the overwhelming winning majority of those trials.

 

So even if the genetic requirement for creating Space Marines is disregarded for head canon, we would at most end up with edge cases from planets where the human genome diverged to the point that females are stronger than males.

 

But yeah, this topic is gonna get the thread locked, or at least these comments will be deleted.

 

I know, and agree. But Im trying to keep it in universe and not be 'ToXiC!!'. 

[N1SB]

I shall organise my headcanon in increasing levels of heresy.

 

 

+++ Personal Understanding of Lore +++

 

 

This is stuff that has examples in the lore, but I just believe it's way more prevalent than those specific cases, that they really do exemplify a lot more of the setting.

 

Most of the lore we know is propaganda.  There are areas where even the lore admits this, like there was a story about how Blood Angels allied with Necrons, which was deliberate revisionist history written to defend Lord Dante's reputation (he himself was preoccupied with thoughts of Baal), explained in a short story in Crusade + Other Stories.  (So you guys mentioned pieces of lore you ignore?  Clearly propaganda, you can be a loyal Imperium citizen and still be a smart mark, that propaganda is meant for the less enlightened, to keep order.)  Also, there are No Wolves On Fenris.

 

The Adeptus Mechanicus value knowledge, but don't worship it (thus they don't like to research new information, only gather old data), what they worship are systems, like a natural order of things.  More knowledge simply better facilitates the maintenance of systems.  Everything from a properly working machine to a the proper working of a Forgeworld, from an Imperial warmachine like a Leman Russ Tank to THE Imperial Warmachine that is the Imperium military, Techpriests like it when things run.  Water goes into a cup, it becomes the cup.  Cogs go into a machine, it becomes part of the machine.  It's a religion like how Eastern philosophies are a religion.

 

Machine Spirits (to differentiate from Cogitators and Abominable Intelligence, because in several Black Library books they make a distinction between those) are like how sailors say every ship has a soul.  Or if you put together your own desktop computer you can tell if it's unhappy from the sound it makes, or a car when you start it up.  A Frater right here on B&C who served on a nuclear submarine understood this far better than I ever will and educated me that, after teasing the vessel he served on with constant drills to bring doomsday, that old sea witch demanded her pound of flesh, every little accident on her was very dangerous, even showering is an adventure with a saving throw against strep.  Are the real in 40k?  As much as they are in real life, that I feel the need to bring my car to the mechanic when I just feel the car is acting odd.

 

 

+++ Personal Interpretations of Lore +++

 

 

Stuff where it's my filling in of existing lore without contradicting it.

 

The Imperium is so grimdark that it's actually more like Space North Korea (than, say, Space Austrio-Hungarian Empire or Space Byzantium).  The propaganda, how they turned their leader into a religion (despite his insistence on the opposite, and the revealtions of Godblight actually), constantly in a state of war, they're quite impoverished, and nothing is cheaper than a human life.

 

Ferrus Manus's homeworld of Medusa is not based on ancient Greece (it's not simply because Perturabo's Olympia already got that covered), but on something akin a fantasy roleplaying world.  There are things like giants and metallic dragons.  Ferrus never became a king, he just wandered around doing quests, like what we may call an adventurer.  H e doesn't want to rule, he just wants to improve every aspect of himself, like a power gamer looking for the biggest quest with the most XP to level up the fastest.  As for his nickname, The Gorgon, it doesn't mean the monster snake lady, but rather a reference to Dungeons & Dragons, where it's the name of a monstrous bull with metallic skin.  Reminder - Games Workshop started out as the exclusive UK distributor for D&D, before Rick Priestley started writing Warhammer.

 

Living Saints are to the Emperor what Daemon Princes are to the Chaos Gods.  Though they would deny it, their acts of faith are the equivalent of sorcery rituals, just to different types of gods.  Belief or psychic, both are different manifestations of the mind.

 

 

+++ Radical Interpretations of Lore +++

 

 

This is borderline Heresy.

 

The Legion of the Damned started on Istvaan V.  This isn't even my theory, I read it right here on B&C and it made so much sense to me, especially after the ending of Master of Mankind.  The motifs of the LotD...the black armour, the flames, the skulls, represent the dead of the 3 most devastated Legions...the Iron Hands, Raven Guard, Salamanders, how the Mark III power armour faceplates look kind like a deathshead...all kind of mishmashed.  And they're to the Emperor what Daemons are to the Chaos Gods, they contain the Emperor's essence just as Daemons do for their respective Powers, in the form of geneseed.

 

I accept Space Marines are all male, but I suspect there are female Custodes, who don't have the same compatibility problems as Astartes and each is individually genetically crafted "work of art" rather than Primarch-based geneseed.  We just can't tell because they're all wearing armour.  Maybe that's why they haven't been bare-chested since 1st ed, though that'd probably sell more than a few models.  But why have female Custodes?  Perhaps for the Blood Games training exercises, they need to train against all types of enemies, including potential female assassins who simply have a different perspective.

 

In the same way Mortarion is a Daemon Primarch of Nurgle, Roboute Guilliman is a Divine Primarch of the Emperor, as was demonstrated at the end of Godblight.  If you asked Guilliman about this he'd report you to the Inquisition or something, but I think he knows, he's just not quite ready to accept it.  This is the weirdest one because the novel really suggests it to almost the point of spelling it out, yet as I type it it sounds like Heresy even to me.

Edited May 21, 2022 by N1SB

[WARMASTER_]

Battle Barge is both a class and model. You can have a Mars-pattern Battle Barge, but also have a vessel designated a Battle Barge because of its role.

 

That’s just straight up cannon dude :) I feel people get confused because we’ve only ever seen one model for both the strike cruiser and Battle barge but they can be any class out ship outfitted appropriately… which to me is waaaay more realistic

[WARMASTER_]

I am a scientist by training and work at a lab for molecular biology.

Most of the fluff for creating super soldiers and space marines frankly is made up by people who had no clue (and maybe a bit of an inferiority complex?) and is complete BS.

Alone the rule that no females cannot be made into Space Marines...

we are talking about a tiny mostly useless Y chromosome, which is the only genetic difference between genders, and someone is telling me, the mighty Emperor was not able to supplement that?

Let alone the fact that with enough hormone treatments you can very well make any sex into a buff male,if started soon enough (and this is what Space Marine creation is about).

Plus, female bodies are more resistant to the trials and challenges of space and low gravity (as was found out since they use female astronauts).

Plus, the Imperium of Man is never wasteful and does not care where the bodies and raw materials come from.

 

So yeah, I am pretty sure that half of the Space Marines out there basically started out as female raw material, changed and transformed into the image decreed by the Emperor.

Most of the Marines will not even remember this fact after indoctrination.

THAT is the huge big secret the Imperium is hiding.

:p

 

So yeah, that is my own (VERY controversial!) personal head canon that I can justify with my scientific knowledge.

I have too respectfully disagree with you here, males as a baseline are stronger than females. This is also the case in males that have been enhanced by growth hormone and other “supplements”

We only need to look at the worlds strongest men and their feats of strength and sheer size and weight compared to the strongest woman in the world and there’s a HUGE difference

 

Also and I actually think this one is more important males and provable more aggressive and murderous than woman [just look any crime statistic from any point in time]

 

When all you want from a warrior is pure aggression, murderous tendencies and sheer size you’d always choose the top 1% of human males [and thats always what’s we’re looking at not the species as a whole but the top 1% of the wanted traits]

 

Edit

Grammar

Edited May 21, 2022 by BladeOfVengeance

[Slave to Darkness]

 

Also and I actually think this one is more important males and provable more aggressive and murderous than woman [just look any crime statistic from any point in time]

 

Doesnt help that people fanboi/gurl over male killers, yet you never really hear about female killy types, I have had many a talk over the years and a lot of people (including English people) know of Ian Brady and have never heard of Myra Hindley. 

[Inquisitor_Lensoven]

 

 

 

Also and I actually think this one is more important males and provable more aggressive and murderous than woman [just look any crime statistic from any point in time]

 

 

Doesnt help that people fanboi/gurl over male killers, yet you never really hear about female killy types, I have had many a talk over the years and a lot of people (including English people) know of Ian Brady and have never heard of Myra Hindley.

he mentioned crime statistics, which have nothing to do with notoriety.

[WARMASTER_]

 

 

 

 

Also and I actually think this one is more important males and provable more aggressive and murderous than woman [just look any crime statistic from any point in time]

 

 

Doesnt help that people fanboi/gurl over male killers, yet you never really hear about female killy types, I have had many a talk over the years and a lot of people (including English people) know of Ian Brady and have never heard of Myra Hindley.

he mentioned crime statistics, which have nothing to do with notoriety.

^^ This I mean raw data nothing else and it’s overwhelmingly one sided Edited May 21, 2022 by BladeOfVengeance

[Bryan Blaire]

Good statistics are all about presentation of what you need them to say. There can also be certain recording biases directly in data.  (Hence the joke about “lies, damn lies, and then there’s statistics…”)

I don’t have a “headcanon” because the concept is ridiculous to me - it’s not canon, so…

In my head, plasma weapons are more like plasma ejectors and their ends look more like melta guns, while melta weapons and volkite are effectively the same and melta has the volkite type appearance, or is a radiation projector with more like dish emitter type things - I like the volkite appearance and they should be easier to get now, so I’ll probably be switching to all those. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do about the Primaris plasma cannons.

[WARMASTER_]

Good statistics are all about presentation of what you need them to say. There can also be certain recording biases directly in data.

Oh agreed 100% but in this case the statistics draw the same conclusions, I think it would be hard to find otherwise, even given biases

Edited May 21, 2022 by BladeOfVengeance

[Slave to Darkness]

 

 

 

 

Also and I actually think this one is more important males and provable more aggressive and murderous than woman [just look any crime statistic from any point in time]

 

Doesnt help that people fanboi/gurl over male killers, yet you never really hear about female killy types, I have had many a talk over the years and a lot of people (including English people) know of Ian Brady and have never heard of Myra Hindley.

he mentioned crime statistics, which have nothing to do with notoriety.

^^ This I mean raw data nothing else and it’s overwhelmingly one sided

 

and I was agreeing with you, I was just adding my own thoughts to what you said. Some people just seem to disagree with me here for the sake of it just for an argument, even though there is no argument to be had in the first place.  

[Mazer Rackham]

My headcanon is that this thread doesn't derail into sidings resulting in explosions and fire, only to be followed by liberal application of meltagun and regret...

[BrainFireBob]

The Primarchs are Greater Daemons in custom designed Custodes-style hosts, allowing permanent residence in realspace.

 

Their geneseed represents a Daemonic seed entity. The Emperor can call on the dead faithful via this mechanism.

 

The Chaos Gods gave the Emperor the Warpstuff to carve into the Primarchs in exchange for half, he cheated by creating them in Gellar Fields and redesigning them. Ie, Sanguinius is perfect for Khorne and Slaanesh, so neither can claim him.

 

Ork Waagh alters probability- they believe things won't fall apart. This also affects what they believe can kill them.

 

The Rangdan Xenocides either represent a lost Primarch, or a Nid incursion.

 

Most of the senior Mechanicum FW lords are at least as old as Cawl, and they implemented AdMech religious fanaticism post-Heresy due to the Dark Mechanicum

 

Angron was intended as the diplomat among the Primarchs

Edited May 21, 2022 by BrainFireBob

[Scribe]

My headcanon is that this thread doesn't derail into sidings resulting in explosions and fire, only to be followed by liberal application of meltagun and regret...

 

I was calculating the odds after a few posts...

 

I dont head canon much, most of it is stuff I just ignore. I do believe the Emperor made a deal with the Gods, and the Primarchs are all essentially Daemon constructs.

 

My hope is that gets confirmed in the final Siege of Terra books.