Encyclopedia Imperialis - an idea....

[Mr Mystery]

How do?

Just another idea plopping out from the foetid morass that passes for my mind...

But, and listen up Black Library, I would love to see this produced.

Imagine a lavish, multi volume work covering the entirety of the species and events in the 40k galaxy. Full colour, illustrated, leather bound background heaven.

I for one would pay good money for that!

But how to make it happen?? Is this something we could petition, cajole and harass Black Library into producing?

[walrusman999]

*Insert "like" here* -and some drooling

That would be an awesome idea, as for getting Black Library to do it... That might be problematic. You could write up some E-Mails and E-mail it out to some authors, or send it directly to BL if you can find an appropriate E-mail Address

[Mr Mystery]

We've seen volumes akin to it in Liber Chaotica, but nothing really comprehensive.

Sales wise, limited edition super spangly version for each launch, followed by well heeled print-to-order for the late comers, and those with more sense than money!

Perhaps an email campaign would succeed, or at least demonstrate some level of demand!

[jgebi]

I wants, but not to be a downer but to do that would be alot of work so they would need to be sure of the payback to even consider that as it would be basically a fluff codex : drools: and the art work to go with it (one picture a page?) and then theirs the price tag... I think most 40k war gamer out would buy it but ... ok now I think I'm just tralking for the hell of it so in short

Best idea ever, The ammount of work would be monstres on the order of a hive fleet, the price to buy (depending on No. pages ect) might be to high, and a limited market, also people would pirate it making it even less cost effective

[FireHazard]

I think that's a great idea. I'd certainly buy it :) As long as it's more in depth than the Inquisition one they did.

Email them. Repeatedly.

I've suggested to them (a couple of times) that a detailed Warhammer Fantasy World Atlas would maybe possibly be an idea worth looking into. Not heard anything back on that though.

[Mr Mystery]

Wouldn't worry about piracy too much. This is a coffee table book. People will pay for quality! Plus I'd imagine it would hold it's resale value fairly well.

In terms of content, much of it is out there already. Consider the stuff mentioned in the very old realm of chaos books. Take that, dust it off, modernise a bit to sync with current setting....

Defo feel an email campaign coming on!

[SotonShades]

it is a great idea, but at the rate the GW fluff gets updated, most volumes would be out of date by the time they went to print, let alone by the time the whole collection (I'd hesitate to use the word 'series') was completed and published. Just like when they tried producing the wargear guide book a few years back; it was almost obsolete within a month when they released the next codex (Tau I think)

[Dalleron]

It exist already, it lexicanum online. It's as close to an encyclopedia as you'll find. Want a coffee table book? Get one of those new fancy table talbets, when they eventually arrive.

But in all honesty, it will probably never happen. It would cost alot, so that GW may not make it based on that, and as mentioned above, the ever changing fluff would render it out of date.

[Psychosplodge]

Has anyone got the Xenos art book we requested last time yet?

[Mr Mystery]

In terms of changing background, it's my experience that it's not as severe as many might think.

Sure stuff in the realm of chaos books isn't mentioned or has outright changed, but they were written 23 years ago.

Recently, it's been largely cosmetic stuff, tying the various Codecies together by referencing common threats.

And remember, it's not so much presented as historical facts, but as a mythic setting. It's 10,000 years since the Emperor ascended the Golden Throne, and much 'truth' has been suppressed. This means it's open to such changes. Think of the revelations in the HH series...

[Denzark]

I've got a Star Trek Encyclopaedia and also a Star Wars one - those universes are more developed so i don't see why this would be a problem...

[DrLove42]

Thing is Star Wars and Star Trek are "known". Everything in them is planned

But in 40K....you are encouraged t invent stuff, and create your own. By "officialising" the lore, it wouldn't work

The FW books will do a pretty good job of being an official encyclopedia of the Heresy

[Wolfshade]

As they often say in the seminars, the galaxy is big enough for everything/anything to be able to happen.

Pink Space Marines riding on Unicorns to battle check
Eldar & Nids fighting together vs. Orks and Imperial Guard check

And because of that we have great things and amusing narratives and can play the game the way we liked. If you look at Star Trek (as that wasn't as well planned out as Star Wars), you have the Original Series (TOS) which is set in a universe then comes along The Next Generation (TNG). What TNG did so as to not contravene anything in the TOS was to set it in the further future and where the issues with Klingons had been resolved and the Romulan threat while present was more of a representation of the East/West cold war years. Then Deep Space 9 (DS9), this had a harder time as it was firmly set in the TNG timeline so needed something else so it went somewhere new, the delta quadrant, this enabled new stories and characters without violating the known universe, then as TNG finished DS9 was able to move the universe on. Next came Voyager (VOY) this again was set firmly in the TNG/DS9 zone so to make things new had to fling them to the gamma quadrant which again opened up new possibilities and as they were away from Starfleet gave them a similiar freedom that the delta did for DS9. Next up cam Enterprise and again it had to try and fit in bringing new narratives but the TNG timeline was qute quite full and pushing it even further into the future would have issues of trying to make the fantastical TNG technology seem obsolete so they had a choice and backfilled in a time before TOS.
I suppose what I am trying to say is that the more that you know of a universe the smaller and duller place it becomes as everything is more predicatble and defined.

[SotonShades]

I suppose what I am trying to say is that the more that you know of a universe the smaller and duller place it becomes as everything is more predicatble and defined.

Or you get JJ in and say; Time travel means its now different so we cant screw with the canon. Woop, free reign again.

P.s. I don't want them to do that with 40k

[Gotthammer]

There's a Star Wars book called The Illustrated Star Wars Universe (http://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Star-Wars-Universe/dp/0553374842) that, rather than try to categorise huge swathes of the galaxy has a stylised look at a number of different planets. For instance Endor is written from the POV of an Imperial recon team ("why would anyone want to build a base out here?"), while Alderaan is a poet lamenting the destruction of her home and Coruscant is a tourguide of sorts.

Adapting the formula to 40k would be pretty easy - Pilgrim's guide to a shrine world, a diary of an Inquisitor moving through a Hive top to bottom, Departmento Munitiorium audit of Cadia, Ork account of the world they just crashed on, Water Caste account of a Sept World, epic verse about a Craftworld etc. You could keep things mysterious but give a closer look at aspects little seen and can use already detailed locales (Cadia, Iyanden etc) or totally new ones or something in between.

[Mr Mystery]

That's the sort of thing!

Keep it deliberately opinionated, and perhaps even a little contradictory. Serious legs on this idea I feel!

Oddly, I think having it compiled by the Tau would fit. They're naiive enough as a species to not question things too deeply, but smart enough to spot outright propaganda.

Eldar would be too knowledgable, Necrons wouldn't care too much, and Imperials? Truth what truth? Back to work civvy!