What's your headcanon?

[Felix Antipodes]

GW is caught in a loop where death is concerned.  They describe a character in the lore.  There is a demand for a model of said character and GW obliges.  Now they have invested the money in a mould, etc, they are naturally reluctant to kill them off until they make their money back/demand diminishes to a point they are wasting warehouse space.  Queue complaints of character(s) overstaying their welcome because GW is chasing that profit/break even point.

 

I love a good character model as much as the next person and there are some that are needed for the lynchpins of the setting.  Maybe GW needs to step back a bit and return to the days when they just put out generic SM captains/chaplains/etc and it is up to players to adapt/mod as they like to their vision of Sicarius or whoever IAW their codex entry.

 

Who knows, this may sort itself out in a future time where everything is 3D printed and expensive moulds are no longer a factor to consider 

 

Edit:  I would suggest the difference in complaints between offing Pugh and Grimnar or Dante is he doesn’t have a model that would be made redundant.  Don’t get me wrong, i agree that there should be more character losses in the setting, I’m just open-eyed as to why there isn’t.  In a perfect world they would reshuffle the Chapter captains lists with every new edition.

Edited May 26, 2022 by Felix Antipodes

[Boldthreat]

No I get it. I really do. Im just bored with it. 40k is a huge setting. It dwarfs the Battletech setting. So why does it feel smaller? Because we keep getting the same characters from the same Chapters fighting the same things. Spear of the Emperor brought in some fresh air. Made the galaxy actually feel big.

 

I’m all for going to generic captains and masters personally. Heck I’m an Imperial Fist fan and I think we have seen enough Imperial Fists. There is only 1000 of them at one time. Let’s see some Doom Warriors. Skull Bearers. Or those yellow Ultramarines (not the Scythes).

 

Helbrecht has been chasing the same Orc for 20 years. Can one of them kill the other one now? And I don’t care which lol.

[Blurf]

Totally self indulgent headcanons that have minimal basis in established lore because I've only read small amounts of it:

 

Celestine has a piece of the emperor's power and her repeated death's and revivals are getting her ready to fully absorb his abilities when he's finally allowed to die and become the new empress of the imperium. Also, Greyfax is super into her.

[Felix Antipodes]

No I get it. I really do. Im just bored with it. 40k is a huge setting. It dwarfs the Battletech setting. So why does it feel smaller? Because we keep getting the same characters from the same Chapters fighting the same things. Spear of the Emperor brought in some fresh air. Made the galaxy actually feel big.

 

I’m all for going to generic captains and masters personally. Heck I’m an Imperial Fist fan and I think we have seen enough Imperial Fists. There is only 1000 of them at one time. Let’s see some Doom Warriors. Skull Bearers. Or those yellow Ultramarines (not the Scythes).

 

Helbrecht has been chasing the same Orc for 20 years. Can one of them kill the other one now? And I don’t care which lol.

This is why my boys hang out on the Western Fringe of Pacificus where nothing seems to be happening ATT and the Imperium’s hold is lax.  Seems nearly everyone else is fighting over the same areas of Obscurus, Solar and the Eastern Fringe and just shrinks the setting as much as reoccurring characters.

 

While we all know that the original nine Chapters (and BT) will always hog the limelight, I feel GW is missing a big bag of cash by not giving some love to the ‘lesser’ Chapters. Maybe on a POD basis.

[LameBeard]

Yeah I get the point about invalidating models. But there are a couple of ways round:

1) a new chapter master is likely to take the armour of the old - so Dante’s successor is going to look like Dante.

2) not everyone had to cross the Rubicon primaris- they had a chance to introduce new characters

3) they have occasionally introduced generic models saying “this would be suitable for the special character X” could do a bit more of that.

Edited May 26, 2022 by LameBeard

[Gamiel]

From the OP: 

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.
[....]

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 26, 2022 by Gamiel

[LameBeard]

Point taken. But I am trying to get back to something closer to the OP.

 

For example, in 4th/5th edition (I think?) Codex Dark Angels, there was the special character Sammael, on jetbike - and it was left deliberately ambiguous whether other Unforgiven chapters had such relics of the Heresy era. They couldn’t say yes (it would be weird for every Unforgiven to have them and no-one else) and couldn’t say No (because it locks down options for successors). So there was a nice encouragement to go for your own “headcannon” or at least a backstory about how your chapter came by the kit, and whether you might convert a model or not.

 

No idea if this is a thing in 8th/9th.

 

What I’m saying is there is a lot of “counts as” going on which I really admire - and some of it is close to the idea in the OP.

 

I guess my head cannon for death (especially ordinary Imperial humans) is that it’s important “in-universe” for Imperial propaganda purposes, to build up these heroes. So victories and battles across the galaxy get attributed to Creed, Yarrick etc when they are actually light years away or even long dead.

Edited May 26, 2022 by LameBeard

[Karhedron]

 

I warmed to Cawl after reading The Great Work.

 

It does make some of his accomplishments more believable.

 This my impression of the lore, not directed at you - but publishing more of the same bad story does not make it better or more believable. It just means someone reiterated the story.

 

To me it is not worth considering. Guess that would be my "head canon."

 

Fair enough, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. For me, the problem was Cawl turning up without introduction and having the knowledge and skills he did. This story provides a good explanation while also being an entertaining read in its own right.

 

It would have been better if some of it had been done before Gathering Storm to lay the groundwork but better late than never. For me, the story was a sufficiently satisfy origin story for Cawl.

[Magos Takatus]

 

I didn’t agree with all of it but I still liked it! Especially the death. It’s a problem GW have that in the dark and dangerous universe, the characters we know hardly ever die. Even worse, some come back from the dead.

Eldrad being the perfect example, he actually died during the 13th Black Crusade. Love how they retconned an entire worldwide campaign

 

I seem to recall a battle report in White Dwarf where Eldrad killed Abaddon and they decided to add it to the canon that Abaddon took a stab to the throat but teleported away before he died. If we're going to get rid of Eldrad I hope Abaddon croaks too. 

 

I understand entirely though, Eldrad is so incredibly old he should be rocking the "one day until retirement" trope on a massive scale.

 

Edit: I can't spell things properly.

Edited May 26, 2022 by Magos Takatus

[gideon stargreave]

I remember that the 2nd Ed imperial guard codex had characters that had already died (solar macharius for example). For me this is how 40k is. Everyone is already dead, and we're playing out their legends. There are 10000 years to explore, the new lore is just added on to the end of that.

Nothing is true

Everthing is permitted

Do as thou wilt is the hole of the law

[BloodyB]

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Usually the High Lords or the =][= don't care one bit about Chapters creating their own small empires, as long as they do everything that a chapter is supposed to do (give their gene tithe, answear any call of help from any conflict large/important enought, show respect toward inquistors, and such).If the chapter don't do those things then empire building becomes just another reason for cencuring the chapter.

 

-------------------

 

Becouse of the blow to moral that the knowledge that one of the Emperor's own host of angels would turn their back on him is seen to be, so are most of those turns keep secret and only allowed to be kept around in inquisitorial knowledge banks. The exception for this are those chapters whose turn from the Emperor's light was to open to keep quite (like the Astral Claws). This has the effect that many renegade/CSM chapters are listed (under their old name if they changed it) as among loyalist chapters now lost (or unheard from for ages). This in turn have made it so that at least some of the chapters from the Ultima founding have been given the honour of carrying the names and (belived) colours of lost chapters carry those of chapter the =][= (and only them*) know turned their back to the Imperium. 

* with the exeption of some chapters that helped out with the deed of cencure and kept the knowledge.

If I recall, the Astral Claws weren't punished for Empire building, or even for breaking the dictates of the Codex Astartes, but for holding back on their Geneseed tithes and slinging mud about the leadership of the Imperium. If they had kept quiet and sent their Geneseed off, the Maelstrom Warders would still be a thing, as would the whole 'Tyrant of Badab' deal.

 

I like the idea of the Imperium keeping lost Chapters on the listings, I am reminded of that time 2 Chapteds showed up wearing the same coluors and called the same name.

[BrainFireBob]

With the Astral Claws, they witheld the sector material tithes and the sector responsible for the deficit got uppity

[Osteoclast]

Another headcanon of mine is that Sororitas Dreadnoughts exist, but are astonishingly rare and seldom see combat due to their irreplaceable nature. Totally not just because I'm working on one...

 

The Rogue Trader omnibus has one of their ancestors being put in one (pages 45-46 of the print version, Rogue Star novella), so you've got some legit old canon to back that one up.

 

 

I didn’t agree with all of it but I still liked it! Especially the death. It’s a problem GW have that in the dark and dangerous universe, the characters we know hardly ever die. Even worse, some come back from the dead.

It bothers me. I felt that the introduction of the Primaris and the time jump was a chance for a whole new roster of characters. Now all the old marines are returning and it’s lost it’s excitement. Space Marines die. It’s what they do. But we hold to these 800 and 1100 year old characters like somehow they are more important than the Chapters that spawned them. The Chapter is the character. The character is just the pinnacle of what that chapter produces. So kill Dante off in a gruesome and heroic way and replace him. His replacement will just be a younger variation of Dante anyway.

 

I thought it was so cool when Forgeworld interred Culln in a Dreadnaught.

 

So have Dante fall to the Black Rage. Feed Logan Grimnar poisoned dog food. Let the Eldar kill Kantor. Let. Calgar. Die. How cool would it be if Luther killed Azrael?

 

Nah, Dante needs to get stuck in a Dreadnaught, like Bjorn, so he never gets to relax and sleep in death like he desperately wants. Dante is suffering and that should be kept up.

[Scribe]

 

I didn’t agree with all of it but I still liked it! Especially the death. It’s a problem GW have that in the dark and dangerous universe, the characters we know hardly ever die. Even worse, some come back from the dead.

It bothers me. I felt that the introduction of the Primaris and the time jump was a chance for a whole new roster of characters. Now all the old marines are returning and it’s lost it’s excitement. Space Marines die. It’s what they do. But we hold to these 800 and 1100 year old characters like somehow they are more important than the Chapters that spawned them. The Chapter is the character. The character is just the pinnacle of what that chapter produces. So kill Dante off in a gruesome and heroic way and replace him. His replacement will just be a younger variation of Dante anyway.

 

I thought it was so cool when Forgeworld interred Culln in a Dreadnaught.

 

So have Dante fall to the Black Rage. Feed Logan Grimnar poisoned dog food. Let the Eldar kill Kantor. Let. Calgar. Die. How cool would it be if Luther killed Azrael?

 

Off Vladimir Pugh and no one cares. He’s an Imperial Fist.. dying is what they do. But you say you wanna put Grimnar to sleep and everyone loses their minds.

 

But I’ll admit a piece of hypocrisy on my part. For the love of the Emperor bring back Captain Cortez. I kid, I kid.

 

 

This is the problem with them turning it into a story. They wont kill off favourite characters, they will just recast them in the new scale as Primaris, rendering the whole operation as transparent as we always knew it was.

Edited May 27, 2022 by Scribe

[RandomMarine]

Big E is Gilgamesh

[Gamiel]

The chapters that are described as pragmatic and no-nonsense (ex. Raptures and Retributors) are more often than not terrible at interacting with normal humans, keeping their moral up, and have real problems understanding how they think and why they would find seemingly non-strategic things (like churches or holy sites) important.

[silverstu]

My head cannon is around Tyranid "special characters" - I see them as rare alpha strains/specialist mutations that the hive mind employs whenever necessary. They aren't widespread as they represent a big investment in materials so every hive tyrant doesn't need to be SwarmLord  as generally a Hive tyrant will do the necessary job. So there is a Swarm Lord strain of Hive tyrant, not The Swarm Lord, Death Leaper is an alpha Lictor, Old One Eye is rare type of Carnifex etc.. I think Phil Kelly described them like that around 4th edition - unique to a point but replicated by the swarm as needed. I don't really like the idea of individual personas  in a faction like Nids, although I'm still fond of naming a specific Fex in a battle "George" as he cuts a swathe through the opposition! I think special characters are great as stories to shape a faction but I definitely prefer player generated characters, adds to the army's history and makes it come to life. 

[Gamiel]

Since so many have head canon that Cawl was behind the 21th "Cursed" Founding would I like to mention that my head canon is that Cawl had nothing to do with the 21th Founding. It was radical elements from the =][= and AdMechs (possibly with the secret blessing of the then High Lords of Terra) that was behind it. 

Edited May 27, 2022 by Gamiel

[phandaal]

Since so many have head canon that Cawl was behind the 21th "Cursed" Founding would I like to mention that my head canon is that Cawl had nothing to do with the 21th Founding. It was radical elements from the =][= and AdMechs (possibly with the secret blessing of the then High Lords of Terra) that was behind it.

It's Cawls all the way down!

[BrainFireBob]

Oh. The Dark Founding was Traitor gene-seed.

No I get it. I really do. Im just bored with it. 40k is a huge setting. It dwarfs the Battletech setting. So why does it feel smaller? Because we keep getting the same characters from the same Chapters fighting the same things. Spear of the Emperor brought in some fresh air. Made the galaxy actually feel big.

 

I’m all for going to generic captains and masters personally. Heck I’m an Imperial Fist fan and I think we have seen enough Imperial Fists. There is only 1000 of them at one time. Let’s see some Doom Warriors. Skull Bearers. Or those yellow Ultramarines (not the Scythes).

 

Helbrecht has been chasing the same Orc for 20 years. Can one of them kill the other one now? And I don’t care which lol.

Don't confuse real time with in-universe time

[Gamiel]

Oh. The Dark Founding was Traitor gene-seed.

All of them or just some? Or the majority of them? If the first, how do you explain Exorcists and Death Spectres being IF and RG successors? Not trying to sink your head canon here, just wondering.

Edited May 28, 2022 by Gamiel

[Dr_Ruminahui]

My head cannon is around Tyranid "special characters" - I see them as rare alpha strains/specialist mutations that the hive mind employs whenever necessary. 

That approach does make a lot more sense.  At least for Old One Eye, I also pictured it as a "super veteran" Carnifex - basically, some tyranids carry within their genetic makeup the ability to evolve and gain experience, to the point that if they survive long enough they "become" the special character.

 

Not sure how to fit the concept with the tyranid "Drop units on planet, Defeat defenders, Eat planet (including own units on planet), Rinse and Repeat" cycle, though - but at least for Old One Eye, my recollection from the old 3rd ed. Tyranid codex was that he was found frozen in a glacier as a leftover from a previous (and unsuccessful) tyranid incursion - on such a planet, my headcanon makes much more sense.

[BrainFireBob]

 

 

Oh. The Dark Founding was Traitor gene-seed.

All of them or just some? Or the majority of them? If the first, how do you explain Exorcists and Death Spectres being IF and RG successors? Not trying to ship your head canon here, just wondering.

Perhaps I should say "primarily."

 

The Exorcists I took as custom GK gene-seed in normal aspirants. Bulking GK support when creating a bunch of Traitor Chapters makes sense.

 

The Death Spectres I take as hybrid 1k Sons/Raven Guard. So, experimenting with it.

 

I should note what planted this idea was that the Traitor gene-seed was in a "time-locked" stasis vault. That either means suspended, or unopenable until a certain time. Dark Founding was long after the Heresy, and it was huge- which with massive newly available gene-seed stores, it could be

Edited May 28, 2022 by BrainFireBob

[Gamiel]

The Death Spectres I take as hybrid 1k Sons/Raven Guard. So, experimenting with it.

Why TS? They have not really shown any tendency to suddenly mutate, high amounts of psykers, or unstable gene-seed, to my I knowledge. Just wondering about your thinking process

Edited May 28, 2022 by Gamiel

[BrainFireBob]

 

 

The Death Spectres I take as hybrid 1k Sons/Raven Guard. So, experimenting with it.

Why TS? They have not really shown any tendency to suddenly mutate, high amounts of psykers, or unstable gene-seed, to my I knowledge.

They're the ones who reincarnate, IIRC- so something to enhance Corax's shadowwalk psyker power. Could be Night Lords too.