New Necron fluff?

[Cyberscape7]

For those who have purchased the GK dex, you will have no doubt have read on pg14 the paragraph headed 'The Impossible Planet'
In it it says that the necrons were causing 'history to be rewritten'
Now I'm not saying that this is what is going to be the central theme is going to be in the new necron dex (when it finally comes out), but does anyone else think that this is going to be a new take on the necrons purpose in the games backround?

[Lane]

It could just be Matt Ward.

[Cyberscape7]

It could just be Matt Ward.

Unfortunatley, that is a possibility.
There is also the terrifying prospect that he might write the new necron dex:eek:

[Lane]

There is also the terrifying prospect that he might write the new necron dex:eek:

That would be fine with me, I already hate Necrons.

[Gir]

Unfortunatley, that is a possibility.
There is also the terrifying prospect that he might write the new necron dex:eek:

He writes awesome rules, and he can't make the background any worse. What's the problem?

[wkz]

He writes awesome rules, and he can't make the background any worse. What's the problem?
Are you tempting fate?!?? Are you going to cause the Necrons to become T5, 2+Sv monstrosities with an undeniable feel-no-pain save of 2+?? Are you REALLY going to have the Nightbringer eat Alpha Centauri, the Deceiver being one of the High Lords, the Void Dragon being behind the primary consciousness of ALL the titans, and Necrons allying with everything from the Inquisition, to Space Wolves, to Kroot, to Watchers in the Dark to even Papa Nurgle's plagulings?!??

Are you truly trying to cause the end of the world as we know it?!??

[eldargal]

Apparently it was confirmed at a Black Library seminar that he is writing the Necron codex but a team of writers are handling the fluff.


Unfortunatley, that is a possibility.
There is also the terrifying prospect that he might write the new necron dex:eek:

[Cyberscape7]

Apparently it was confirmed at a Black Library seminar that he is writing the Necron codex but a team of writers are handling the fluff.

Wow. The team has actually kept Ward away from the fluff! This might be what they do for all the other dex's he's involved in (hopefully):D Have to say, I'm not too worried bout the ruleset- he has done some good work with the GK rules so it should be fine. Just as long as we don't get monolith over-kill...

[eldargal]

I don't think it had much to do with Ward, from what I recall GW felt the Necrons really needed to have exceptional fluff and they decided not to entrust it to any one person.

[Cyberscape7]

That makes sense. I suppose they need to keep the space zombies interesting...

[Occam]

Yeah, just read the page---wow. I've read awful stuff. But that doesn't make sense. Unless it was the perception of reality being changed rather than time being eroded. That would make more sense. Heck, I'd love to see a reference to the Anti-Life Equation. It would fit their character, after all; it would be he perfect way to defeat Chaos when everyone believes in the same thing.

Sorry, I must cut this short as those darn flying elephants have decorated my car again....

[Gir]

Apparently it was confirmed at a Black Library seminar that he is writing the Necron codex but a team of writers are handling the fluff.

I would not be surprised if this happened with every codex so far.

[JamesP]

Yeah, just read the page---wow. I've read awful stuff. But that doesn't make sense. Unless it was the perception of reality being changed rather than time being eroded. That would make more sense. Heck, I'd love to see a reference to the Anti-Life Equation. It would fit their character, after all; it would be he perfect way to defeat Chaos when everyone believes in the same thing.

Sorry, I must cut this short as those darn flying elephants have decorated my car again....

The Necrons do have technology that can manipulate space and time on a small scale (Chronometron in their wargear, a defensive strategy for Planetstrike, the name of which escapes me, and so on). There's also mentions of it in the existing fluff. For an army/ species based on ultratechnology, they and their gods have a surprising Cthulhoid attitude to warping space and time. This warping isn't in all the fluff - Commissar Cain has wandered through a Necron tomb or two without seeing it IIRC - but it is there in others and reflected somewhat in the game. As an aside, I've always thought the descriptions of the space/time anomalies on the worlds of the Saruthi in the Eisenhorn novel Xenos would be a good fit for a Necron world.

From what I have heard, the new Codex will depict the Necrons as a more awakened and therefore a true military force rather than the raiders which they have been shown as to date. So it is possible that the book will mention more large scale manipulation of the fundamental fabric of the space time continuum and other bigger and nastier Things That Man Was Not Meant to Know*.

Whether this will be actually reflected in their rules or just mentioned in the fluff, I don't know, though I suspect it would be the latter.

I've always thought of the Necrons as heavily-inspired by the Cybermen so I'm all for them zipping around causing damage to space and time, perhaps chased by Inquisitor Who and Interrogator Pond. I do like your idea about the Anti-Life Equation though, time to buy a Darkseid figure to use as a proxy Nightbringer.

* though you could argue that nearly all of the 40K background is Things That Man Was Not Meant to Know.

[Occam]

I believe the name of the maneuver that you are searching for is "Euclidean Mind phase."

[JamesP]

I believe the name of the maneuver that you are searching for is "Euclidean Mind phase."

Thanks. Our new baby has meant that Planetstrike has been banished to the loft and is buried under piles of unpainted figures dating back to before Rogue Trader...

[Farseer Uthiliesh]

I've always thought of the Necrons as heavily-inspired by the Cybermen so I'm all for them zipping around causing damage to space and time, perhaps chased by Inquisitor Who and Interrogator Pond. I do like your idea about the Anti-Life Equation though, time to buy a Darkseid figure to use as a proxy Nightbringer.

Given the Impossible Planet mentioned above . . . (which is an awesome concept).

Now, when I was last overseas I was informed by a GW 'staffer' about possible changes to the 40k background with the new Necron codex. I don't like to openly discuss rumours, as I may have heard wrong, but what I was told sounded ridiculous. I actually debated the ideas, as they seemed antithetical to 40k themes, so let's hope they were just ideas GW had been throwing around.

Besides, I love the current Necron stories and background.

[Drew da Destroya]

I'd let Interrogator Pond interrogate me anytime she wants... especially if she's in that cop outfit.

If Matt Ward is writing the codex, I sorta hope he revisits the "Blood Angels/Necron BFF's" fluff piece from the other side... and it shows the Necron blowing the Blood Angels ships out of the sky as they leave the planet, or something. Anything to redeem that horrible nonsense. Or the Necron Lord could walk away thinking "My, those Blood Angels sure are nice chaps. Perhaps we should invite them back to the tomb for tea?".

I'd be interested in seeing an evolution of the Necron's fluff... the time manipulation stuff sounds kinda cool. I mean, apparently Chaos gets to do it due to "blah blah time means nothing in the Warp, yay!", so the Necron should be able to manipulate it as well. Otherwise, there's no reason the Old Ones couldn't have just Warp-traveled back and wiped out the Necrontyr before they woke up the C'Tan.

Also, Terminator references require time travel.

[Cyberscape7]

I'd let Interrogator Pond interrogate me anytime she wants... especially if she's in that cop outfit.

If Matt Ward is writing the codex, I sorta hope he revisits the "Blood Angels/Necron BFF's" fluff piece from the other side... and it shows the Necron blowing the Blood Angels ships out of the sky as they leave the planet, or something. Anything to redeem that horrible nonsense. Or the Necron Lord could walk away thinking "My, those Blood Angels sure are nice chaps. Perhaps we should invite them back to the tomb for tea?".

I'd be interested in seeing an evolution of the Necron's fluff... the time manipulation stuff sounds kinda cool. I mean, apparently Chaos gets to do it due to "blah blah time means nothing in the Warp, yay!", so the Necron should be able to manipulate it as well. Otherwise, there's no reason the Old Ones couldn't have just Warp-traveled back and wiped out the Necrontyr before they woke up the C'Tan.

Also, Terminator references require time travel.

I agree with EVERYTHING mentioned here!:D

[Farseer Uthiliesh]

I'd let Interrogator Pond interrogate me anytime she wants... especially if she's in that cop outfit.

If Matt Ward is writing the codex, I sorta hope he revisits the "Blood Angels/Necron BFF's" fluff piece from the other side... and it shows the Necron blowing the Blood Angels ships out of the sky as they leave the planet, or something. Anything to redeem that horrible nonsense. Or the Necron Lord could walk away thinking "My, those Blood Angels sure are nice chaps. Perhaps we should invite them back to the tomb for tea?".

I respectfully disagree. It shows the Necron as being more complex. Otherwise we'd have the Necron remain like some Saturday morning cartoon enemy; it's not like Autobots versus Decepticons/ G.I.Joe vs. Cobra every week, and never the twain shall meet. Besides, the Silent King wasn't being nice - it knew that both forces had been hammered by the Tyranids and it was unlikely the Necron would win against the marines.

[Drew da Destroya]

I respectfully disagree. It shows the Necron as being more complex. Otherwise we'd have the Necron remain like some Saturday morning cartoon enemy; it's not like Autobots versus Decepticons/ G.I.Joe vs. Cobra every week, and never the twain shall meet. Besides, the Silent King wasn't being nice - it knew that both forces had been hammered by the Tyranids and it was unlikely the Necron would win against the marines.

That's fair, but the whole piece still reeks to me. Why would the Necron have helped the Blood Angels against the Tyranid anyway? Why not just destroy them (now easier because the Blood Angels were fighting a 2 front war), then either continue purging the Tyranid, or head back into their tombs, seal up, and wait for the bugs to leave?

[Farseer Uthiliesh]

That's fair, but the whole piece still reeks to me. Why would the Necron have helped the Blood Angels against the Tyranid anyway? Why not just destroy them (now easier because the Blood Angels were fighting a 2 front war), then either continue purging the Tyranid, or head back into their tombs, seal up, and wait for the bugs to leave?

I guess because the Necron knew that they couldn't fight the Tyranids alone; and yes, they could have returned to their Tomb world to wait for the Tyranids to leave - but what would they return to? A world denuded of all organic material? Further, if that's the way the Necron operate, then forseeably they would never engage anyone, since returning to a tomb to wait until things were more suitable for them would result in no battles - just 'terrorist' style raids.

Ultimately, I find it fascinating that not all Necrontyr were of the attitude that they must wipe every living thing out - why should they be? - and therefore it is likely that some Lords would have preserved engrams where their personalities continued their neutral or a more balanced mindset. Such as the Silent King making a strategic decision to briefly ally with the Blood Angels.

However, I understand your view point and do not think that you are wrong - you are entitled to expect the background to be more in sync with how you perceive the 40k universe to be :) I just like morally grey characters, who aren't always so despicable.

[Drew da Destroya]

I guess because the Necron knew that they couldn't fight the Tyranids alone; and yes, they could have returned to their Tomb world to wait for the Tyranids to leave - but what would they return to? A world denuded of all organic material? Further, if that's the way the Necron operate, then forseeably they would never engage anyone, since returning to a tomb to wait until things were more suitable for them would result in no battles - just 'terrorist' style raids.

Admittedly, isn't that what they did for like, 30,000 years (or whenever the Enslaver Plague happened)? Maybe they're bored of hiding in tombs.

The idea that the Lords are retaining their personalities is certainly compelling. As I recall, it's been obliquely mentioned in the BRB fluff section, so it could very well go that way. Which, as long as they handle it well, could be cool. And dear Emperor, there had better not be any Sisters of Battle/Necron team ups... The memory of Sanctuary 101 trampled!


Oh, right, I forgot I was on the internet. Grrrr! Your opinion is stupid, and so are you! Also, your mother is a hampster! :p

[Farseer Uthiliesh]

Admittedly, isn't that what they did for like, 30,000 years (or whenever the Enslaver Plague happened)? Maybe they're bored of hiding in tombs.

The idea that the Lords are retaining their personalities is certainly compelling. As I recall, it's been obliquely mentioned in the BRB fluff section, so it could very well go that way. Which, as long as they handle it well, could be cool. And dear Emperor, there had better not be any Sisters of Battle/Necron team ups... The memory of Sanctuary 101 trampled!

I wonder what it was that woke them up following the plague? Not arguing with you - but it does make me think what conditions they were looking for. That's why I now think that the Deceiver and the one in the Dyson sphere have been active for a long time.

Haha - Sisters and Necrons, the ultimate team up.



Oh, right, I forgot I was on the internet. Grrrr! Your opinion is stupid, and so are you! Also, your mother is a hampster! :p

LOL

[JamesP]

I wonder what it was that woke them up following the plague? Not arguing with you - but it does make me think what conditions they were looking for. That's why I now think that the Deceiver and the one in the Dyson sphere have been active for a long time.

There are various bits of fluff - such as the Deceiver setting up the Gothic War but also others - that suggest that the Deceiver woke up much earlier than the other C'tan and indeed most Necrons and used that time to get himself up to speed on what had been happening during their sleep and then stirring things up to weaken their enemies before the rest of the Necron's woke up.

As for the Outsider in his Dyson Sphere, I'm not sure if it that he has been active earlier than most or if it's that people (i.e. foolhardy Mechanicus Explorators) have been invading his tomb earlier than most.

Re. waking up, I think that Andy Chamber's short story 'Deus Ex Mechanicus' or a similar source suggests that the Necrons were supposed to wake up once the Enslaver plague had burnt itself out but either the mechanisms didn't work or were set to a condition that never happened in the end - the latter along the lines of the plague will wipe out everything and we will therefore wake up when our instruments tell us that everything else is dead, but the plague turned out to be not quite that bad in the end.

But I could be wrong, I need to re-read that issue of Inferno.

[JamesP]

The idea that the Lords are retaining their personalities is certainly compelling. As I recall, it's been obliquely mentioned in the BRB fluff section, so it could very well go that way. Which, as long as they handle it well, could be cool. And dear Emperor, there had better not be any Sisters of Battle/Necron team ups... The memory of Sanctuary 101 trampled!

I agree entirely that Lords having more of a personality would be nice, provided, as you say, it is handled well. And, as Farseer Uthiliesh mentioned, provided that they don't become nice in the process.

The only accurate way to represent a Sisters/ Necron team up in 40K would be to deploy a Witch Hunters army and a Necron army in the same deployment zone and have them shoot each other to pieces while a third army looked on from the other side of the table in bewilderment :)

[Cyberscape7]

If the necrons were, as Mat Ward suggested- nice then I think that bit of fluff could be fixed in the new necron dex.
i.e. Necron Warrior- M'lord why did you let them go?
Necron Lord- Let them go? No no I merely gave them directions to a neutron star. Those space vampires won't know what hit them. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!1


Obviousley the fluff will be done a little more tastefully, but you get the idea:p

[Drew da Destroya]

I wonder what it was that woke them up following the plague? Not arguing with you - but it does make me think what conditions they were looking for. That's why I now think that the Deceiver and the one in the Dyson sphere have been active for a long time.

Haha - Sisters and Necrons, the ultimate team up.

I think it was that life was coming back in great enough numbers to make a suitable sacrifice to their star gods? Admittedly, we're getting into parts of the fluff that I'm weak on, but I think the reason they went to sleep was because all life was getting wrecked, and it wasn't worth them sticking around for it.

Now that life is coming back, it's time again for the robotic uprising of the mid-90's.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1BdQcJ2ZYY