Warhammer+ Lore Summary

[Lord Marshal]

Original source is this thread on /r/40klore, taken from the WarhammerTV Loremaster's video.

 

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Leagues of Votann

• The Kin are described as being really strong as a faction, specifically with the Leagues being described as huge interstellar empires
• The Leagues straddle the line between Abhumans and Xenos for the Imperium, there is not much binding the two together
• Concept of “the Truths” which are truisms universal among the Kin
• Kin are more populous than the Aeldari and Tau
• The galaxy’s core is described as having crazy amounts of wealth and minerals and is quite inhospitable to the other races
• Ancestor Cores first created Cloneskeins
• Kin value individuality, including those caused by mutation; often Kin may get physical alterations such as hairstyles, tattoos, piercings for aesthetic purposes
• Cloneskein templates can lower the lifespan of a Kin, though that depends on the mutation
• Ironkin have been with the Kin since the Leagues had records
• Ironkin are often not Kahls or in positions of leadership, though it can happen
• Each Ironkin consists of a CU, or Cerebral Unit, and a mechanical body
• The CU and body are unique to each individual Ironkin (and potentially may have modifications to help out in the tasks the Ironkin does)
• CUs are nigh-indestructible; an Ironkin can literally survive as just a CU though may enter a state of torpor and may activate a distress beacon
• Kin will go to great lengths to get a CU that is in distress, treating them as a Kin in distress
• Both the Kin and Ironkin are designed and created by the Ancestor Cores, but some cores have lost this ability
• Brokhyrs and Ironkin Guilds can create new Ironkin, though it is not as good as the Ancestor Cores
• When a Kin or Ironkin dies, their physical form is recycled to the Votann in order to make new Kin/Ironkin
• It appears the Kin’s memories are taken up into the Ancestor Core and the Ironkin’s data is also processed in this manner
• Ironkin can be still alive up to potentially centuries, though as they get older they will become more insular and slow due to taking in so much information
• Kin and Ironkin naming conventions are roughly the same, during creation each Kin/Ironkin gets a name by the Votann called a first or given name, given by the ancestors. To change it is disrespectful. The second name is the chosen name, with Ironkin either choosing one or both names. The chosen name often incorporates the Kin/Ironkin’s a family name, a league, or occupation; though the names can be accumulated over time though these are given by other Kin, in honor of some achievement.
• COGs are robotic assistants that can be used for loading, combat, or other forms of tasks
• COGs are not nearly as advanced as Ironkin. They are akin to Tau Drones for the Leagues
• The Kin when directly dealing or allied with humans do not bring up the subject of Ironkin and the Leagues’ use of artificial intelligence around humans; if directly pressed, the Kin will not lie about the Ironkin or the COGs, often causing conflict with human allies
• Ancestor Cores are a closely guarded secret, the concept of the Votann are kept intentionally vague around every non-Kin

 

 

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The Leagues

• Kin of a Kindred share the same Crucible and thus a genetic bond
• There are four aspects of the Kindred referred to as the Four Pillars:
• Hearth: “the heart of the hold,” literally the heat and light their forges, recycle air, and let the kin thrive
• Forge: Here everything the Kindred needs is built, from weapons to life-support systems
• Fane: Where the Grimnyr interface with the Ancestor Cores
• Crucible: Where new flesh and blood Kin are made
• Kindreds are each governed by a council of senior officers, guild masters, and grimnyr, they are slow to change their minds or come to decisions
• It is said the Kin of a Kindred have a prenatal ability to understand each other
• Guilds vary widely in size and outreach among the guilds; Guilds have a large sway over the manufacture, resource extraction, and commerce of the leagues
• Every aspect of life and production is affected by the guilds; stressed to not being an overbearing force, it can be as simple as a Guild mechanic working on stuff and regulation
• Not all kin join a guild, though a membership of a guild can be beneficial to a Kin
• There is no exact number of known Leagues, the Kin find no use in keep track of it; Leagues are described as sometimes nomadic
• Each League is unique and they are made up of a different number of Kindreds
• The Greater Thurian League is the largest of the leagues with over 200 Kindreds and the largest amount of territory in the core region of the galaxy.
• They have a lot of military might and resources at their disposal and they want to expand their reach. Their members think they epitomize what it means to be Kin
• The Kronus Hegemony are the most militaristic, formed less than 1k years ago.
• Notable in their Votann has achieved self-awareness and has been demanding the Hegemony to always gather resources; Kindreds that join have to pay a hefty price to join and then have to pay hefty tributes through conquest.
• The Hegemony are super aggressive, even towards other Leagues
• The Kinhosts of the Hegemony have broken Ork Waaaghs and Imperial Crusades
• The Ymir Conglomerate value craftsmanship, they have an abundance of resources and skills. They have a higher amount of high-quality weaponry and equipment for their kinhosts.
• They are noted for trading beyond the core and all over the galaxy
• The Urani-Surtr Regulates are stoic, pragmatic, and abhor waste, though they are noted for being less concerned with the cost of lives and material for battle to prevent giving up ground.
• They have been invaded by other groups into their territory, most recently a newly awakened necron dynasty. Said necrons seem to be obsessed with eliminating the Regulates
• The Trans Hyperion Alliance is a nomadic league, spread across the Core and the rest of the galaxy in stations and in ships. They communicate with each other to keep in contact with ancient technologies. This info is heavily cyphered
• The nomadic lifestyle is due in large part to gather resources or information to the Votann, having achieved a cult-like status
• When calling war for a league, a votannic council has to be called
• This consists of the high Kahl, lord Grimnyr, Brokhyr forgemaster, and any heroes of the Kindred. For smaller conflicts, this is reduced to more local leaders
• The most capable or suited of Kin are selected to lead their forces. There is heated debate on who this should be, though it rarely results in an argument and is done to find the best candidate for the job.
• Oathbands have a flexible format; they can consist of whatever is required to what is available
• A handful of Kinhosts and millions of kinhosts would both count as Oathbands
• Oathbands are typically led by a Kahl, though not always. Kin in an Oathband are obligated to serve the leader of the Oathband until their service is no longer needed
• Expeditions to far off worlds in search of resources or in search of wealth are called Prospects. The strengths of these expeditions can vary wildly

 

 

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The Votann

• No league will risk harm to an Ancestor Core and any kin will not hesitate to lay down their own life to protect the AC
• The word Votann is used freely enough though is never explained among non-Kin
• Votann are ancient machine intelligences that are so powerful and complex that they are almost supernatural
• They hold all of the information needed that a race may need to survive in the depths of space; including but not limited to STCs, scientific and philosophical learnings, military strategy and theory, weapon specifications, et cetera.
• Ancestor Cores act as mini-astronomicans (i.e. they have a presence in the warp that Kin voidfairers can sense, due in part to the Votann being a massive resource of info)
• Most of the value of the Votann is due in part to the knowledge they possess.
• Knowledge they possess may be forgotten or lost if not used commonly
• They become ponderous with each interaction with living Kin
• It is not known who made the Votann
• The Votann never actively ruled or lead the leagues, they act more as repositories or advisors
• On occasion, the Votann may make predictions interpreted as prophetic visions by a grimnyr that guide the Kindreds
• We have a name of a great Kahl from the Great League that is prophesied to complete a great task (I do not know how to spell the name)

 

 

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Ancestors of the Leagues

• The Votann are explicitly critical in Kin society functioning
• The Kin are recently coming out more from the core of the galaxy, especially after the great rift

 

[phandaal]

The Leagues' entire civilization and continued existence as a species resting on deteriorating supercomputers is a nice Grimdark touch.

[lansalt]

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• The Kin are described as being really strong as a faction, specifically with the Leagues being described as huge interstellar empires
• Kin are more populous than the Aeldari and Tau

This doesn't mesh well at all with the know history of the setting and the Imperium.  I can't see also any mention about how they do FTL. Do they use navigators? They have dwarfs with three eyes too?

[phandaal]

11 minutes ago, lansalt said:

This doesn't mesh well at all with the know history of the setting and the Imperium.  I can't see also any mention about how they do FTL. Do they use navigators? They have dwarfs with three eyes too?

That has been covered in WarCom lore articles. Leagues use "barrier tech" to access the Warp, have quasi-psykers called Grimnyr to activate the tech, and use Ironkin wayfinders to calculate optimal paths through the Warp.

[TheVoidDragon]

58 minutes ago, lansalt said:

This doesn't mesh well at all with the know history of the setting and the Imperium.  I can't see also any mention about how they do FTL. Do they use navigators? They have dwarfs with three eyes too?

How does it not mesh well? The Imperium isn't the entirety of the galaxy, there are plenty of other empires out there that have avoided interaction with them. They're also in a location no one is really able to venture into without extreme effort, with that location on the galaxy being so hazardous and difficult to navigate with warp travel being very dangerous (and all that's not new lore). They've been isolated and kept to themselves for millenia, purposefully avoiding Imperial space for the most part but interacting and trading with other species occasionally.

I don't see how being more populous than the remnants of a dying empire and the newest empire to enter the galactic stage is strange. The Kin have been around for between like 10,000 - 20,000 years.

[Lord Marshal]

1 hour ago, lansalt said:

This doesn't mesh well at all with the know history of the setting and the Imperium.  I can't see also any mention about how they do FTL. Do they use navigators? They have dwarfs with three eyes too?

It sounds like their empire consists largely of the Galactic Core - which most races struggle to penetrate at the best of times - but the Great Rift splitting through it is causing them to try and expand outwards, thus why they're suddenly so active again on the galactic stage.

My best guess is that the Squats as we know them will have been worlds on the periphery or outside the Core which were assimilated during the Great Crusade, whereas they won't have been able to properly take the territory controlled by the League within the Core proper and were 'allied' to them in a sort of "we'll deal with them later" situation and then the Heresy kicked off.

Edited August 26, 2022 by Lord Marshal

[phandaal]

37 minutes ago, Lord Marshal said:

It sounds like their empire consists largely of the Galactic Core - which most races struggle to penetrate at the best of times - but the Great Rift splitting through it is causing them to try and expand outwards, thus why they're suddenly so active again on the galactic stage.

That is my take on it as well.

Also, the Great Rift crashing through the core gives us the possibility of Chaos Squats, which is awesome.

[TheVoidDragon]

5 minutes ago, phandaal said:

That is my take on it as well.

Also, the Great Rift crashing through the core gives us the possibility of Chaos Squats, which is awesome.

They mention in the video that warp corrupted Kin has happened before, but it's very rare.

[Triszin]

Some real interesting bits here.

 

It sounds as thought votann ancestors are emergent ai, not created ai.

 

I.e.  they keep feeding a data repository data until, at some point it becomes self aware?

[mel_danes]

On 8/26/2022 at 9:50 AM, lansalt said:

This doesn't mesh well at all with the know history of the setting and the Imperium.  I can't see also any mention about how they do FTL. Do they use navigators? They have dwarfs with three eyes too?

From the notes above.

-Ancestor Cores act as mini-astronomicans (i.e. they have a presence in the warp that Kin voidfairers can sense, due in part to the Votann being a massive resource of info)-

I suspect a Imperial Navigator would not know what they were sensing if they got close enough to the core to even sense these mini-cans.

Kin voidfairers won't need to make crazy long distance jumps as the system density in the core region is incredible high.

Combined with what phandaal mentioned about their tech, and Ironkin wayfinders they could be quite capable warp travelers.

Edited August 27, 2022 by mel_danes

[silverstu]

There are some things missing or that I remember differently . The bit about "conflict with human allies " if they reveal the true nature of Ironkin  was worded as "their allies turn their guns on them". The Trans Hyperon  Alliance keep in touch using ancient tech heavy scrambled to keep informed/connected to their Votann which is also on the move. There is a gene-guild which controls/supervises the Cruclibles - they can make Cloneskeins but not as well as the Votann, their clone skeins tend to be shorter lived. COG robots where described as having intelligence closer to pets rather than the full intelligence of the Ironkin. They also made mention of the Kin having strong souls but these are shielded/masked in some way so they don't attract/enable chaos. The Votann also on occasion ask for hardware upgrades. I'm fairly sure the Grimnyr was referred to as a living ancestor.

The Lore was really good I thought, seems to be rich and deep and gave a real sense of a dwarf-type society. There is some fantastic art as well including one of their hammer shaped space ships with an imperial cruiser broken in half across their prow and the imperial cruiser looks tiny. 

[Lord Marshal]

Already posted this on the News thread, but since that moves pretty quickly and it might be useful to stash this here for later...

• Technology that is shared by the Imperium and Leagues such as Volkite are more developed and refined, without the lack of understanding the Mechanicus have.
• Although they share an origin, the Imperium is trapped by superstition and ritual.  
• The Imperium's technology is stagnant, while the Leagues still innovate.
• Another mention of Tau receiving Ion technology from the Tau. The Kin kept the more optimised versions for themselves.
• Tyranids and Orks have caused the Leagues a lot of trouble.
• There were rumours circulating the Imperium that the Tyranids had wiped them out (heh).
• Votann STC technology makes the Mechanicus' Forge Worlds look primitive.
• Every Forge within a Hold is unique, added to over centuries.
• The Votann provide designs, but the Kin innovate and improve on them.
• Some Imperial and Kin technology appears similar, but is usually constructed of different materials and built differently.
• Some shared designs were already so perfect they are identical to those the Imperium has, such as volkite.
• A lot of technology uses materials that can't be found outside the Core.
• 'Dark Star Ore' is can halt all organic and mechanical functions and is mined and shaped with exceptional care.
• Hand Spectral Scanners allow the Kin to ascertain an enemy's location through walls, objectives and the Warp.
• Their teleportation technology is almost flawless and can be used to jump between locations.
   
• The Votann are basically mini-Astronomicons.
• Wayfinder Ironkin equipped with super-cogitators can calculate locations based on their lights.
• They navigate the Warp in short jumps. 
• The speed of the Imperium's warp travel is one of the few ways their technology is beats League's.
• The Kin prefer their way as the time distortion and risk of daemonic incursion is greatly mitigated.
• Their warp drives and Gellar fields are superior. Warp travel is more reliable.
• They can travel within the Imperium without impedance. They can mine wealth and investigate Space Hulks without leaving the Warp.
• These shielding developments are present in the physical realm, with different shields overlapping.
• Compact and efficient, they can be projected from personal generators or over an area.
   
• The Kin are far more practical strip-mining worlds.
• Global magna extraction an tectonic delving allow the harvesting of whole worlds.
• Stellar siphons drain the stars.
• The Kin have no compunctions about tearing open the crust of a world whilst the population is still on it.
• Evacuations can be negotiated.
• If a resistant population is too strong they might decide it's not worth it.
• The Kin view these resources to be theirs by 'right of might'.
• "Luckhas, need keeps, toil earns."
   
• Kin view relationships with other races as essentially "How will this benefit us? Will that benefit outweigh the cost?
• They try not to get clouded by dogma or superstition, though a Grudge may cause them to lose perspective.
• The Tau refer to the Kin as, you guessed it, the Demiurg.
• The ships that appeared in Battlefield Gothic were mercenary ships hired to reinforce their fleets.
• The Kin view the Tau as young and naïve, but they appreciate the value of the Greater Good as it has similarities with their own belief of putting Kin first.
• A continued point of contention is the League's refusal to join the Tau Empire, believing the small fleets they encounter is all that's left of their race following a Tyranid invasion (heheh). The Leagues don't see any point in enlightening them.
   
• The Tyranids have caused an incalculable amount of damage to the Kin and are known as "The Bane."
• They'll devour Kin same as any other organic species, but leave the Votann themselves alone.
• One Votann went mad after it's Hold fought a last stand. The Leagues avoid it as it has a habit of pulling ships off course.
   
• Interactions with the Eldar have been limited, as their arrogance annoys them.
• They avoid interacting with the Dark Eldar and Harlequins.
• The Exodites are more tolerated, unless they happen to be on a potentially lucrative world.
• The Kin are disgusted by Chaos.
• The Necrons consider the Kin to be another upstart race, with some trepidation as the Leagues like to delve deep into planets and have a habit of finding inactive Tombs.
•  The Kin view Necrons with 'shoot on sight' diplomacy.
   
• Orks have long plagued the Core and have been as successful as every other race at exterminating them.
• The dangers of the Core seem to give them little pause. Pirate fleets are a common problem.
• Orks are their most hated foe.
• "A prize for an Ork" is a term used to describe things which are useless to the Kin.
   
• Humanity is viewed the same as any other species - something valuable commerce can occur, other times mercenary work can earn a good reward - but mostly the Imperium is avoided, lest conflict break out. 
• Rogue Traders are happy to trade with the Leagues, though the Kin view their extravagant lifestyles as wasteful. Deals are made with desperate Imperial governors to defend their planets for a fee.
• More zealous elements of the Imperium view them as Xenos, whilst more down to earth humans such as the Guard would see them as Abhumans.
• Various names have been used for the Kin (Squats, Demiurg) and it's impossible to confirm whether these are individual civilisations, Leagues or a mixture. 
• To the Kin, the Adeptus Mechanicus are "rats scurrying over a scrapheap", superstitious tech-shaman who's ignorance is dangerous. They try and avoid them but are swift to wipe them out if it can't be avoided. 
• The Mechanicus are unware of the extent of the League's technology and they will go to great lengths to keep it that way. 
   
• The Kin will leave most denizens of the galaxy alone, or trade, so long as you don't have what they want.
• The Leagues think nothing of taking what they need.