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Warhammer 40,000/Analysis: Difference between revisions
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{{Analysis}}{{work}}
[[Warhammer
== The Rule of Cool ==
The game of [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] and its futuristic offspring both involve pitting armies against each other, represented by miniatures sold by the intellectual property owners, Games Workshop. Therefore GW has a vested interest in getting lots of different people to play lots of different armies. If one person wants to play the heroic [[Space Marine]]s, they will sell them [[Space Marine]]s, if another person hates the typical Sci-Fi [[Space Marine]] template perhaps they would like to spend $49.95 on a box of wild, violent, asexual Orks ([[Our Orcs Are Different|green paint]] not included). However, each race needs background descriptions on which they are sold to each personality, so that one race doesn't become woefully less popular than the other and become unprofitable. They all need their cool moments and those cool moments need to be readily demonstrated to each potential player on a first glance.
''Warhammer 40,000'' ends up dominated by [[Rule of Cool]] and all its subtropes. Any particular variation is included not just because somebody at HQ has a chainsaw fetish (though they probably do), but because somebody somewhere will find it cool. [[Chainsaw Good]], [[Abnormal Ammo]], [[BFG]]s and [[Guns Akimbo]]? All there so that somebody can describe with glee the walking tank that shoots chainsaws made of human bones out of both its kneecaps.
All of these things are pushed [[Beyond the Impossible]] so that they can then become more memorable and iconic.
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* ''Religion and Government are Intertwined'': The Empire of Man is a straight-up theocracy, because not only is worship of the Emperor justified, it's required for the Astronomican (A huge psychic beacon that guides faster-than-light travel all over the galaxy) to work.
* ''Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts'': Think you're the smartest guy in the room? You're channeling Tzeentch. If your art becomes [[wikipedia:Degenerate art|too degenerate]], say hi to Slaanesh when he shows up. Of course, if you ask too many questions in the first place, the Inquisition will just get to you first.
* ''Obsession with Crime and Punishment'': When your crimes can summon demons and destroy worlds, the state is justified in being interested in them... and these crimes may not directly involve the accused harming anyone.
* ''Protection of Corporate Power'': Due to the unimaginably vast nature of the Imperium, it is incredibly decentralized. Vast corporations, many of which span whole star clusters, can be enormously powerful, and the central government places no restrictions at all upon their behavior. While the individual planetary governments could, in theory, regulate corporations, the sheer size of many corporations makes any kind of practical control unlikely, as the resources of such corporations easily dwarf those of most individual worlds (with the exception of Hive and Forge worlds, most Imperial planets hover developmentally between about AD ~1000-2000). As mentioned, the sheer vastness of the Empire makes such laissez-faire policies almost required.
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The above entry almost contains this one. Any reader of 1984 comes into it knowing exactly what it is: an exploration of the evils of totalitarianism. There might be some surprises, but you never are fooled into thinking that the Party or Big Brother are the good guys. But what is this? You ''LOVE'' the Emperor of Mankind, the eternal savior of humanity, for without his protection mankind would face certain extinction. You know that even heretical ''thoughts'' create windows into the Warp for unimaginable horrors, but your moral sensibilities raised by (insert atrocity X) might cause you to question: Is the Imperium's rule really the last, best hope of humanity? Am I fighting for the good guys? Maybe those Tau, or that cult of freethinkers, really work for the Greater Good or want better lives for the miserable oppressed.
(the paranoid gut-wrenching moral dilemma here is captured by most half-way decent mindfuck spy movies)
Maybe you defect, or are corrupted. You quickly learn that not only are they as bad, but they are worse than the Imperium, that their boot on every human's face, forever, is better compared to alternatives. Hopefully, in the moments before the inquisitorial bullet claims you, you will have the comfort of knowing that YOU LOVE THE GOD-EMPEROR, because HE PROTECTS HUMANITY.
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