Warhammer 40,000/Tropes/A to H: Difference between revisions

*** Largely averted by the novel protagonists [[Gaunt's Ghosts|Ibram Gaunt]] and [[Ciaphas Cain]], '''HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!'''. Gaunt is working with a severely limited number of troops and cannot afford to be wasteful, while Cain knows that eventually his schemes to get out of trouble will fail, at which point he would prefer that his troops like him enough to watch his back rather than aim for it. It helps that both men are basically understanding and honorable individuals ([[Heroic Self-Deprecation|much as Cain would deny it]]), attached to disciplined regiments that don't have the kind of morale problems that typically require Commissars to be [[Bad Boss]]es.

** Commander Chenkov of Valhalla routinely abuses the Imperial Guard's [[We Have Reserves|reserves]] to overwhelm the enemy with endless waves of poorly-trained, disposable conscripts. He's also been known to use his troops to clear minefields for tanks and bog enemy units down so that the artillery can shell them, and once executed a million of his own men to build a dam from their bodies. His regiment, the Tundra Wolves, has been refounded more than a dozen times in recent decades due to casualties, and it's rumored that he's killed more of his own men than he has of the enemy. And of course, since this is the Imperium, he's routinely awarded medals and commendations for quickly defeating the enemy with these brutal tactics.

** The grand master of this trope (insofar as the 40k universe has a grand master of horribleness) is Abaddon the Despoiler, Warmaster of Chaos. A fairly unpleasant person BEFORE he turned to Chaos, Abbadon is very much a believer in the Darth Vader approach of anger control, namely immediately killing those who displease him. However, this being the '''GRIMDARK''' setting it is, Abaddon takes it just one step further and will happily destroy ships of his own fleet if the captain of said vessel displeases him. And keep in mind his flagship is the aptly titled ''[[Earthshattering Kaboom|Planet]] [[There Is No Kill Like Overkill|Killer]]''.

** It's stated that the Tau are like this to their mercenaries, and are definitely Bad Bosses to aliens who join their alliance, though more in the style of ''1984''. We have yet to see much evidence though.

* [[Base on Wheels]]: The Leviathan, a mobile command centre on treads the size of ''a small city''... which acts as an APC ''for tanks''.

** Orks have their own version - A ''krawla'' will vary in size from a tank APC to a city on wheels which may in turn contain smaller krawlaz.

** The Imperator Titan is also essentially a base on ''legs'' which carries an entire ''castle'' around on its back, particularly when the ridiculously complex ''Titan Legions'' rules are used; the same applies to the Mega-Gargant. Variant Imperators were supposed to follow the release of the ''Titan Legions'' but never did, one of which would have had an entire aircraft carrier deck on its back.

* [[Battle Trophy]]: Pretty much everyone.

** As shown in the ''[[Ciaphas Cain]]'' novels, the Tau are so devoted to the Greater Good, that [[The Fundamentalist|any thought or idea that goes against it is met with almost physical repulsion, and they literally cannot understand why anyone would actively choose to live against it]]. Tau believe that personal ambition is evil, don't feel love in the romantic sense, and have little sense of individuality.

* [[Bodyguarding a Badass]]: Space Marine Honor Guards are deployed to protect the Chapter Master, who did not get to his position by being a pushover.

* [[Boisterous Bruiser]]: Space Wolves and Orks.

* [[Bond Creatures]]: Both natural, in the somewhat obscure Gyrinx, and the various creations serving psykers as Familiars.

* [[For Doom the Bell Tolls]]: The Bell of Lost Souls is located atop one of the highest towers of the Imperial Palace, and tolls once whenever a truly great hero of the Imperium dies. It is said to be audible on the other side of the planet.

** It is hinted at in the fluff that the bell tolls for every Space Marine that died in service to the Emperor. It must be ringing nearly all day and night if that is true.

* [[For the Evulz]]: Dark Eldar, and Orks pretty much have this as their main motivation. [[Alternate Character Interpretation|A number of the Chaos worshippers, too.]]

** The whole franchise strives to be as mindbogglingly terrifying as it can '''for no [[Precision F-Strike|f**king]] reason!'''

** In fact, according to one version of their backstory, the Kroot started out as fairly ordinary birds, aside from their ability to absorb DNA and evolved into intelligent, humanoid lifeforms by scavenging dead Orks.

* [[Genius Bruiser]]: A wide variety, although who, why and to what extent vary wildly depending on the setting. Of particular note, perhaps, is [[The Emperor]] himself - who is/was clever enough to construct his own Webway Gate, design Space Marines, develop Force Weapons (at least, the current Imperial variety) and command the Great Crusade, and was badass enough to personally kick the crap out of pretty much anyone in the setting. His [[Praetorian Guard|Adeptus Custodes]] and Space Marines are a close second - in particular, the Tech Marines, and any Space Marine who survives long enough to gain some experience (notably, Dante of the Blood Angels, Logan Grimnar and Bjorn the Fell-Handed of the Space Wolves). Each faction has their own representatives, as well - Fabius Bile, various Mekboyz (though they have more of the bruiser than the genius about them, they are a damn sight smarter than the rest of da boyz), various Eldar...the list goes on.

* [[Genre Busting]]: It doesn't matter if the tropes the series uses are from Scifi, Fantasy, Horror, or whatever, as long as they make the setting [[Darker and Edgier]].

* [[Genre Savvy]]: Ork madboyz have been known to [[Medium Awareness|mutter about "Rolls" and "The meta game"]]...

* [[Godzilla Threshold]]: Despite getting [[Flanderization|Flanderized]] to being a solution for any problem, [[Earthshattering Kaboom|exterminatus]] is actually treated this way within the canon.

* [[Goggles Do Something Unusual]]: Just about anyone who sees some action wears a visor, except those who have [[Electronic Eyes|bionic eyes]] anyway. A lot of which either can do the same or can be linked to something that does.

* [[Golem]]: Eldar wraith-constructs. Also, vat-grown Servitors/Cherubim/Gholam.

* [[Go Mad from the Revelation]]: Roll up! Gaze unprotected into the Warp! Lose your mind!

* [[Guilt-Free Extermination War]]: pretty much every single race has a reason to exterminate every other race and has [[plan]]s to do so.

* [[Guns Akimbo]]: Cypher and Sisters of Battle Seraphim (jump pack using hit-and-run troops), mostly. Dire Avenger Exarchs can have this too. In RPG Two-weapon wielder and subsequent Gunslinger talent are present in all branches, of course.

* [[Gun in My Pocket]]: Plenty of examples of models holding their guns in, shall we say, suggestive ways, but kings of this trope are the old Ork Gargant and Imperator Titan models, both of which featured rather unfortunately placed trouser cannons.

 

** Notably, 40k is one of those settings where the energy weapons can be considered Hand Cannons.

** Notable as well is that these energy weapons don't go pew, but loud "krak!", also causing the weapon to actually have some kick as well.

* [[Hanlon's Razor]]: Almost always inverted - never attribute to stupidity what can be explained by malice or conspiracy.

* [[Happiness in Slavery]]: Brutal aversions abound, but there is one straight example: The Chapter Serfs of the Space Marine Chapters. They fill all positions in a chapter not involving leadership or infantry combat, and are better trained and equipped than any non-Astartes. The Space Marine Chapters, in turn, recognize the skill and dedication of their serfs, and chapter serfs are full members of the chapter cult, and enjoy a better lifestyle than all except the richest citizens of the Imperium.

** [[Emotions vs. Stoicism]]: There are the Chaos gods, hellish demons that embody (and are actually created by) the emotions of the sentient beings in the galaxy. All manner of cults and religions do unspeakable acts fueled by zealous fervor because it's part of their dogmas and faiths. The Messiah, which practically all of humanity worship with the same zeal, on the other hand, was a proponent of science, logic, and atheism. The greatest irony is that if there is any hope for humanity at all, said Messiah will ultimately end up literally becoming God (Belief is literally power. And there are countless trillions worshipping the Emperor.)

** [[Flesh Versus Steel]]: The Imperium relies on mass-produced vehicles and weapons, non-disfiguring biological implants, and sheer stubbornness to face mutated Chaos monstrosities and the Tyranid swarm. The Eldar use some psychic powers and a lot of hyper-advanced technology for everything, while the Dark Eldar are vat-grown and have a fondness for growing strange monsters and grafting bits onto themselves. The Necrons and the Daemons of Chaos wage war on each other regularly, intending to destroy each other. This is good, and bad, because if Chaos is destroyed, our universe and the Warp will not become one, but the Necrons will exterminate everything in the galaxy that isn't them. If Chaos wins, the Necrons are no longer a threat but the Chaos Gods' plans continue.

** [[Order Versus Chaos]]: There is no real Good vs Evil. Although there are some individuals who could be considered good, as a whole the sides are basically Bad vs Worse. However, Order does come off as a slightly lighter shade of black most of the time.

* [[Have You Seen My God?]]: All but three of the old Eldar pantheon were killed before or during the Fall of the Eldar. The survivors are Cegorach, the Laughing God of the Harlequins, who hides out in the Webway and foils the plans of Chaos from the sidelines; Khaine, the god of war, who was shattered into pieces which sleep in each craftworld as [[Physical God|Avatars]]; and Isha, the mother goddess, imprisoned by the Chaos God Nurgle to test his plagues on, who nevertheless secretly whispers out the cure to every said plague to try and help her children in the material universe. The Eldar are also attempting to create Ynnead, a new god of death, from the souls of dead Eldar stored in the Craftworlds' Infinity Circuits, the idea being that when the very last Eldar dies, Ynnead will be strong enough to rise and defeat Slaanesh. They hope.

** Epitomized by the Dark Eldar city of Commorragh, which doesn't even exist in the material world; but is hidden in the "Webway", a sort of interdimensional labyrinth that exists between the Warp and the material world.

** They can be very sociable...to other Eldar. Everyone else, not so much.

* [[Highly-Conspicuous Uniform]]: Almost everyone save certain Imperial Guard outfits. Space Marines in particular have the saying "camouflage is the color of cowardice." Then again, being an obvious target is not particularly problematic for a human tank...

** Inspired by the Imperial Guard, Blood Axe Orks typically wear camouflage patterns, rather than the vibrant clan colors favored by other Orks. The problem is that what most Blood Axes consider to be "camouflage" is still brightly-colored and garish by human standards; only the Kommandoes have really figured out how to do it properly.

** Second Edition Lord Commander Solar Macharius had the rather unique ability as your army's leader and [[Informed Ability|a tactical genius]] to ''totally screw up your battleplan'' on the basis of a dice roll; just having him in your army might potentially lead to all your reserve units being committed immediately and skipping the devastating Preliminary Barrage step that was one of the IG army gimmicks (every artillery weapon in your army could fire before the battle actually started). Um, thanks there, [[Marty Tzu|mister tactical genius]].

** While Hollywood Tactics are typically averted both in written fluff and in the game itself (again barring Orks,) it is quite commonly depicted in artwork made for the game. A very common theme is to show two opposing armies of huge size standing in lines and firing at each other from practically point blank range with no cover and no room to move laterally. [[Rule of Cool|It looks very dramatic]], but such battlefield situations almost never occur on the tabletop or in a narritive.

** [[Hologram Projection Imperfection]]: Usually a somewhat flickering cone of blue-ish or green-ish light is involved.

* [[Homage]]: Tonnes and tonnes of 'em, some minor, like planets named after Games Developers or deodorants, some much more major. The best example of a major homage would be the Necrons, started as a clear and blatant homage to the ''Terminator'' films: mysterious robotic skeletons, who carried on trying to kill you even if reduced to crawling torsos with no legs, and a special rule called "I'll Be Back". Later changes [[Retcon|departed from this]], focusing more on their image as impossibly ancient servants of even more impossibly ancient monsters. Essentially now a bunch of [[Ancient Conspiracy|Ancient Evil]] [[Determinator]]s with rather too much scalpel imagery, they maintain the robo-skeleton and "I'll Be Back". "I'll be back" has since been redubbed resurrection protocols and their fluff has moved them further than a simple Terminator [[Expy]].

** In what may be a twisted homage to the original Terminator's flesh gradually getting messed up to reveal the robotic endoskeleton (as well as a reference to the Aztec deity Xipe Totec), Necron Flayed Ones invert this: they start as machines that then ''drape themselves in the flayed corpses of their victims''.

* [[Horse of a Different Color]]: Mutant horses, cyber-horses, cyber-boars, giant lizards, daemons that look like slugs, daemons that look like ''metal rhinos''...

* [[Hot Blade]]: The [[God-Emperor]] sported one back in his heydays. Naturally, there are imitators among the fanatics.

* [[House Rules]]: If you and your opponent agree to them.

** The rulebook actually takes a very congenial stance towards them. Some things basically HAVE to be decided by the players (especially when dealing with terrain).

* [[Human Outside, Alien Inside]]: The Orks are actually ''fungi!''

* [[Human Resources]]: The one resource the Imperium has in unlimited amounts, which tends to lead to... [[We Have Reserves|wastefulness]].

* [[Human Sacrifice]]: The Golden Throne is fed, ''daily'', the souls of one thousand psykers who weren't selected for use by the Inquisition, Adeptus Astronomica,<ref>who will sacrifice ''themselves'' if they succeed, as a monastic order who trains for years to the job on which they'll burn out in a year at most, knowing exactly what they do and to what end</ref> or Astra Telepathica - where those deemed tough enough become "normal" sanctioned psykers <ref>who end up used as walking guns or sensors until they spontaneously combust, get possessed by daemon, shot by the minder if it looks like they're about to, or learn even tougher control of their powers - which gives some tiny chance to die of old age or be "promoted" into Inquisitor's retinue</ref> and "talented, but not strong-willed enough" soul-bound to the Emperor and used for communication.<ref>usually end up with burned-out eyes and dubious life expectancy due to mental strain and/or being high-priority targets for anything hostile to their employer or the Imperium in general - but given from ''what'' soul-binding protects, may still have a better deal than the rest</ref> Chaos rituals frequently make use of this also.

* [[Humans Are the Real Monsters]]: Although, to be fair, ''so is everyone else.'' In addition, it has been established that the Imperium ''[[Inherent in the System|has]]'' [[Inherent in the System|to be terrible in order to survive.]] So Humans Are Bastards out of necessity rather than choice. Think of it as [[I Did What I Had to Do]] on a larger scale.

** In-game, [http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Phantom_Titan Eldar Phantoms] currently take the cake, ''being over 4 foot tall''. Miniature? Hardly.

* [[Hyperspace Is a Scary Place]]: The Warp, or Immaterium, is a reflection of the emotions of all sentient beings, the collective [[Dream Land]] of the galaxy and home to all the nightmares there have ever been, given form. Part [[Spirit World]], part [[Phantom Zone]], a sea of emotion and the source of all psychic power, it's also the daemon-infested home of the [[Cosmic Horror|Chaos Gods]] and is, for all intents and purposes, ''hell''. And going through it is the only faster-than-light travel available to most races.

 

{{reflist}}