LARPFEST

[Darth Roxor]

Time to go full derp.

Although both options look like they lead to full derp.

The wisest men follow their own directions B

 

[skuphundaku]

B

 

[Ulminati]

B

We don't need any FATE unlock codes

 

[Johnny the Mule]

fags

AAA

 

[Storyfag]

Ah, so the Changer of the Ways is tempting us. Most intriguing. I say we deny him, like we've been denying his kind for the last updates. B

 

[Crooked Bee]

I'll just jump on this Bandwagon.

 

[Yaar Podshipnik]

Thanks root for not forsaking us! This is a very grim dark update.

I say we carve our own fate, although Tzeentch is really a stubborn dude

Votan B

 

[Kayerts]

Pretty weird that we didn't bring the Custodian with us for the assault on the Imperial Palace, but that's an incongruity I can live with.

So, we carried Tzeentch all the way from Cadia. I guess he must have possessed the Lorekeeper, then? He'd already been possessed once by an avatar of Tzeentch, and there was that hint back in the Black Library update about how "the traitor's hand is closer than you think."

Accepting his offer feels like it could result in him defeating Alpharius's forces and taking control of the straining Emperor Machine. Which seems bad, but arguably not as bad as mankind getting nommed by the Nids. Plus, it's something the Malcador Mind didn't anticipate, so it stands a chance of throwing a wrench in the Dragon's plans.

Still, it seems inexcusably out of character. B.

 

[Kz3r0]

A

 

[Hoodoo]

A

 

[Kayerts]

I think this is the line you're referring to, Slaughter:

On either side of him were two more chaos space marines, their armors entirely white and their helmets plain. They were called the Traitor Twins, souls that had bartered with Chaos for the good of mankind and ultimately were lost to it

So not necessarily a formal pact. I'd figured that "bartering with Chaos" could be covered by several things the Lorekeeper had already done onscreen: collaborating with Ahriman or any actions taken while under the possession of the Lord of Change in Act I. Although agreeing to be the sole receptacle of Tzeentch's power would count, too, I guess.

 

[Azael]

B

Everything we've done so far has led to this. No Gods, no Masters.


EDIT: Also, yes, I believe that the Lorekeeper is Tzeentch's vessel.

 

[grotsnik]

A. It's better to possibly live on your knees...

 

[Unspeakable Horror]

B.
No gods.

 

[CrazyLoon]

This is an easy one. B

 

[Ulminati]

In our hearts though, we were always SPESS MAHREENZ

 

[Kayerts]

Sounds like option B will lead to consequences reminiscent of Ezekiel's when he delivered his own "no gods, no masters" pronouncement, whereas A may be relatively benign, or at the very least interestingly fucked up.

Still standing by B, though. The Bromaster did just say, "Even in death, I do not serve."

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

maybe I should clarify something: You are not playing spehss marines. As such, gods or no gods, CHAOS will be involved in either choice.

also, hi there

Hey Root, one thing I think you barely elaborated upon was what happed after the demise of Malal, and the reactions of the Chaos Legions to that event. We only see Doombreed saying the Great God has lost, then jump to next update. How did Jeremiah react? How did the surviving Chaos leaders and warbands react? No epiphany (Oh no, I was serving some weak plastic god all along! I will kill myself/worship the Emperor again/whatever), no regret, no despair or such?

I mean, what's Jeremiah and cia's mentality now?

Compare this to the reaction Jeremiah and the other Exterminating Angels had when the Lorekeeper told them The Emprah was DEAD.

Imagine you have a God. Not only you worship him/her/it, but you know said God IS Real and he/she gives you power and honour. Then God is dead. GOD IS DEAD!!!!

A fluff update concerning this would be nice.

Sounds like option B will lead to consequences reminiscent of Ezekiel's when he delivered his own "no gods, no masters" pronouncement, whereas A may be relatively benign, or at the very least interestingly fucked up.

Still standing by B, though. The Bromaster did just say, "Even in death, I do not serve."

Fuck, now that I think about it, its a eerily reminiciscent of the end of Act I. Life is truly ciclycal.

Remember how that ended? In somebody doesn't, here's a reminder:

"We are sworn to pursue Chaos whenever it presents itself! Jeremiah was tainted, The Inquisitor was tainted, did you not hear his words?! We root out heresy! We fight for mankind!"

"You fight for nothing. Still your lying tongue. You have done enough. You have been weighed in the balance, and found wanting. The sentence is execution."

Ezekiel was the first to fall. An Exitium round turned his upper body to a fine red paste. The Chapter fought bravely, but it was hopeless. Against two companies of terminators, scores of Predator Tanks, and many regiments of Stormtroopers and Primaris Psykers, they were outmatched. Not even the Land Hulk's mighty weapons and Drop Pods were of use; there was no time to use them. Though Ezekiel's warning to power up the systems proved useful in shrugging off the first assault, he had never imagined the sheer numbers of their attackers. In the end, the vehicle was reduced to a heap of scrap metal, its drop pods scattered around its carcass.

The broken battle-brothers lay dying, the battlefield slippery with their blood and guts. The attackers were vicious; their eviscerators tore through the Astartes in a bloody mess of bone and bile. Techmarine Gaius was pulverized instantly when one of the Predator Anihilator's twin-linked lascannons hit him. The scout company, former cadian men, were slaughtered mercilessly; boys no older than fourteen had their skulls stomped to the ground by the Terminatour's mighty boots and reduced to a pulp, their broken bodies thrown towards the attackers as improvised projectiles, loaded with meltabombs. The Adeptus Mechanicus and the few psykers who had followed the Chapter aboard the Land Hulk were taken out and burned alive by streams of melta fire, screaming in agony as the streams of pyrum-petrol seared their bodies and souls. The attacking battle-psykers left many battle-brothers babbling incoherently and convulsing in unthinkable pain before a Black Templar thunderhammer felled them. When the attacking force found the diseased marines in the medicae bay, being tended to by Master Apothecary Galen, they levelled the place with a barrage of autocannon fire and ripped the apothecary's spine out of his body and placed it on a spike, considering him the culprit for what they thought was the Nurgle's Rot afflicting these marines. The diseased became deceased, and nothing was left of them.

Though some of the attacking forces suffered casualties, they were shrugged off nonchalantly. This was not a battle; it was a massacre. At the end of the day, the Exterminating Angels were no more. Their legacy one of chaos and corruption, or so the Black Templars would later say, their ashes scattered to the four winds and their gene-seed considered too vile to be even retrieved. Deserters and heretics deserved no mercy. They were burned down to the bone and left to rot under the Cadian sun.

And in his tomb of a thousand years, Ignatius Helfrich opened his mouth and screamed as he heard the laughter of the thirsting gods.

 

[CappenVarra]

also...another unexpected result. there's a 'puzzle' (two, actually) if you will in this last update, and I figured people that didn't solve it would vote A (it's p obscure). here's a hint: unreliable narrator (yes, even in third person )

drats, foiled again

Foiled by codexian lack of perception, how very unexpected

Also, A :violin:

 

[Kayerts]

I doubt this was the puzzle, but there have been a number of religious references, mostly to the Biblical Book of Revelation, throughout the last few updates. I'm sure no one wants to turn this thread into Biblechat2011, but I appreciated them, and in case it'd increase anyone else's enjoyment of the story, here's a list:

1. The whole part with the "dragon" during Iblis's invasion is a direct reference to the dragon in Revelation 12-13. (It's an extended scene and too long to quote here, so look it up if you're interested.) Iblis, in case anyone doesn't know, was the original name of the Devil in Islam.

2. "Come and see" appears four times in Revelation 6. Every time, it's bellowed by a beast in a thunderous voice, and it breaks the first four seals on the book of judgment, and each time it unleashes one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Speaking of which:

3.

[VD] drew his finest sword, wreathed in flame, and fastened lightning claws over his left gauntlet. Eagle’s talons. He projected a halo of light around his head and crowned himself with golden laurels. He stepped down from the Golden Throne and went forth, to conquer.

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Depending on who you ask, the white horseman in the Bible represents either the Antichrist (sure), Christ (okay), the Holy Spirit (huh), or pestilence (what?).

4. The Credo Omnissiah at the beginning of the Machine Messiah update is a refactoring of the Nicene Creed.

5. Speaking of Nikaea, the Council of Nikaea (where Malcador met Ahriman) was the invention of Games Workshop 40K writers, not Root, but it is itself based on the historical council of Nikaea. (The 40K council's purpose was to determine whether the use of sorcery was considered harmful. The historical council's purpose was to determine whether heresy was considered harmful, and more generally what the essential beliefs of Christianity were.)

6.

Before the Titans fired their weapons, there was silence in the heavens about the space of half a second.

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.

In case anyone is wondering how that ends, here's an annotated version:

And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.

And another angel (Ahriman? Tzeentch? VD? The Brokeeper? The Bromaster?) came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer (Jeremiah's golden sphere? Tzeentch's vestige? VD's Transcendence protocol?); and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints (the prayers of all saints) upon the golden altar (Malcador's Machine Mind) which was before the throne (the throne).

And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.

And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.

Bad Shit continues to go down for a while afterward; you can look it up if you like, but my general impression is that these references are for flavor and that Root's not going to alter the narrative too much to shoehorn in extra fidelity.


Edit: Also, hang on:

most of Chaos doesn't know that the Gods are dead.

How is that possible? Thousands of daemons, the entire elite forces of their crusade, died screaming, most of their sorcerers exploded, the remainder are all wielding enough psychic power to burn water, all their daemonic tools and gifts stopped working, all their daemon princes reverted to human form, and everyone just thinks, "hm, could be coincidence! Blood for the Blood God!"?

 

[Unspeakable Horror]

How is that possible? Thousands of daemons, the entire elite forces of their crusade, died screaming, most of their sorcerers exploded, the remainder are all wielding enough psychic power to burn water, all their daemonic tools and gifts stopped working, all their daemon princes reverted to human form, and everyone just thinks, "hm, could be coincidence! Blood for the Blood God!"?

Well, he did say something about unreliable narrator. I don't know if that might be related (probably not)

most of Chaos doesn't know that the Gods are dead. Jeremiah knows, but I thought I portrayed him somewhat as being ambivalent regarding all that worship crap and Doombreed pushed him over the edge into the 'justice, not law' territory completely

also...another unexpected result. there's a 'puzzle' (two, actually) if you will in this last update, and I figured people that didn't solve it would vote A (it's p obscure). here's a hint: unreliable narrator (yes, even in third person )

drats, foiled again

maybe I should clarify something: You are not playing spehss marines. As such, gods or no gods, CHAOS will be involved in either choice.

also, hi there

Hi, we are doomed

 

[DwarvenFood]

thanks for the update root, respect for pulling through for us.

have not gotten around to reading yet.. funny thing.. printed it out at work, wanted to read it on the train, but forgot to take the papers with me. wonder if anyone spots it tomorrow.

 

[The Brazilian Slaughter]

Let's think some things here:

The ending seems to be clearly Tzeentch tempting us. He says we brought him all the way from Cadia. Who was there in Cadia with us and is here again?
Jeremiah (died early in the game, turned to Chaos before the end of Act I)
Ignatius (died somewhere between Tzeentch's death and the Exterminatus)
Cypher (died before Tzeentch's death)
Ahriman (killed Tzeentch, somehow survived and turned into a shape-shifting psyker)

Another possibility is that someone in Mars had a remant of Tzeentch inside him. Magnus, one of the Sorcerers, Doombreed and Malygris. Magnus and his sorcerers seem the most probrable ones because they were his servants before he died. Doombreed is intereting, because he was the one behind Malal's death. Makes sense for Tzeentch to kill the Great God to make space for himself. Malygris seems improbrable. It is interesting that Tzeentch only showed up after Mars exploded.

Our voting went better than I expected. I thought about the possibility of the Machine exploding in a warp boom and killing the Nightbringer, but it went even better than I thought.

Also, Alpharius. Am I the only one who doesn't believe in him? "We just pwned all your forces, despite the fact you're still here after having roflpwned our first forces." Seriously, its Alpharius. He's probrably misleading us to weaken our morale. For all we know, he may suddently put his hands on the air, say "Nah, actually, I know its a evil C'tan that wants to eat humanity. I'm ALPHARIUS, after all. I'm supposed to know everything. Now follow me" and deliver us to the Throne Room. Or our forces may appear and roflpwn him from behind.

Also, even if Jeremiah dies, there's still Ahriman. VD is coming to the Throne. I think there will be a EPIC battle.

 

[Kayerts]

Personally, I blame Storyfag for our current sorry state:

Please, Root, give us Alpharius and/or Omegon there

why? they're p boring

All the sly references that the Alpha Legion is still doing the Emperor's work mean that they'd fit with the Resistance quite nicely. That's why

Anyway, let's look at the actual text here:

Before the Titans fired their weapons, there was silence in the heavens about the space of half a second. In that moment that seemed to stretch on forever, a voice spoke to the leader of the Chaos host: ‘You have merely to ask, and I shall grant it to you. You’ve brought me this far. All the way from Cadia.’

Referring to people via title can be a sneaky narrative trick. "The leader of the Chaos Host" seems to refer unambiguously to Jeremiah. I suppose it could also refer to Doombreed (although, why would it?) or possibly even Alpharius. (The Alpha Legion was a chaos host, prior to this update.)

Also, Alpharius. Am I the only one who doesn't believe in him?

I'm skeptical, too. It's worth noting that (a) this is the first mention we've had of Alpharius in the narrative, and (b) canonically, he was a Traitor Primarch last seen twelve thousand years ago, when he was gutted by his spiritual liege immediately after Horus's siege of Terra.

Curiously, based on this and the description of Alpharius's armor in the update, it looks like we're dealing with the actual Alpharius, not his twin Omegon. Which is puzzling, because Alpharius was supposed to have died vs. Guilliman, and the survivor who's been commanding the legion for the past twelve millennia was supposed to have been Omegon. This feels like it might be the puzzle Root mentioned, but I don't see how it informs our choice, so maybe not. Also, this makes little sense:

The ten Astartes Legions have already begun their cleansing and at the end of the month, you’ll have no army save that which you surround yourself with.

That's a very odd qualifier if Alpharius/Omegon is planning to destroy Jeremiah's forces.

Our voting went better than I expected. I thought about the possibility of the Machine exploding in a warp boom and killing the Nightbringer, but it went even better than I thought.

The bit about the rift needing an engram to stabilize it is worrisome, though. Malygris's actions may be about to create a second Eye of Terror.

Also, even if Jeremiah dies, there's still Ahriman. VD is coming to the Throne. I think there will be a EPIC battle.

The Swarmbro's still on the loose, too. He had a reason for zerg-rushing Terra; I imagine we'll find out what it was, next time.

 

[Azira]

B, we bow for no one!