Why is Leman Russ/SW the executioners?

[Wildcard]

I have read both Thousand Sons and Prospero Burns... but the idea of Legions having a role still seems a little silly to me because didn't the Emperor create all the Legions equally to conquer the galaxy for humanity?

There is this fact that the conquering of the galaxy wasn't meant to took eternity. So, when the war was over, Emperor had roles for his sons in his Imperium. Builders/architects, politicans, artist , crafters/techgeegs, diplomats, outright leaders, rumoured psyker for the golden throne, police force, psy... Practically 20 aspects needed to effectively run the Imperium and look for its wellfare.

[wittdooley]

There is this fact that the conquering of the galaxy wasn't meant to took eternity. So, when the war was over, Emperor had roles for his sons in his Imperium. Builders/architects, politicans, artist , crafters/techgeegs, diplomats, outright leaders, rumoured psyker for the golden throne, police force, psy... Practically 20 aspects needed to effectively run the Imperium and look for its wellfare.

And interestingly, this is a theme the better HH writers explore in their stories: what is the purpose of a weapon if there is no war? We see both the primarchs and the legionnaires explore this topic. And even better .....

--SPOILER ALERT--

... we see this theme explored by one of the Emperor's former weapons, a thunder warrior, in the Outcast Dead.

Anyways, back to the Space Wolves: Chris-- I really think you need to read Thousand Sons and Prospero, and then if you're endeavoring enough, Battle of the Fang (an execellent, excellent novel by Chris Wraigt that is sort of a "warhammer 35K" story). These three stories dispel much of the surface barbarism you keep alluding to with the whole "Vikings in Spaaaace" schtick.

[Chris*ta]

Again, Chris, we get that you see the Space Wolves as Vikings in space, but IMO, that's great. The Vikings had a rich culture and rich traditions, and Norse Mythology, while less widely read, is fantastic. To condescend to Viking culture and arbitrarily state that vikings were simply drunkards and barbarians is a bit unfair; sure, they were those things to the conquered, but much like the Space Wolves, a history written from their perspective tells a far different story.

My point is not that the drunken barbarian thing was actually true of IRL Vikings, but that's the cliche that most people have of them, and most of the stuff about SWs is written to reflect that cliche, to a greater or lesser extent.

Oh, and I'm disinclined to start reading the HH books, on the principle that I'd have to read all of them and I already have more than enough books on my to read pile.

[wittdooley]

My point is not that the drunken barbarian thing was actually true of IRL Vikings, but that's the cliche that most people have of them, and most of the stuff about SWs is written to reflect that cliche, to a greater or lesser extent.

Oh, and I'm disinclined to start reading the HH books, on the principle that I'd have to read all of them and I already have more than enough books on my to read pile.

Can you really say that's true, though? I mean, the most recent 3 or 4 stories regarding the Space Wolves are QUITE the opposite (Prospero, 1000k Sons, Battle of Fang, Deathwolf, Kraken). The whole Ragnar series embodies that a little bit, but even that series isn't THAT bad.

Which Space Wolf stories have you read? Or is the majority of your opinion based on the codex?

[Chris*ta]

Based on Codex. It is the primary work on a faction after all.

[wittdooley]

Based on Codex. It is the primary work on a faction after all.

I think that's our disconnect. I tend to use the Codex as the least 'fleshed out' of any of the fluff they provide and stake more claim in the stories that are written. IMO, it's harder to take any of the codexes terribly seriously when they're written by rules developers and not authors, ya know?

[Chris*ta]

I think that's our disconnect. I tend to use the Codex as the least 'fleshed out' of any of the fluff they provide and stake more claim in the stories that are written. IMO, it's harder to take any of the codexes terribly seriously when they're written by rules developers and not authors, ya know?

See, this may be our problem. I started before the novels were published at all, and think of them as secondary to the Codexes. It's a bit like in Star Wars canon, where the movie canon is more true than the expanded universe canon (i.e. books/cartoons/games etc.).

Not only were the codexes the only source of info available, they were written by the people who created the universe.

When the books started to come out, they were written by ringers who didn't have the handle on the fluff that the Studio did, or the "license" (in my head, at least) to create new stuff.

I suppose I don't trust the books because (at least in my head) they're not checked by someone against the "Official" canon that comes direct from the original creators of the fluff. Some of whom (at least) are still active in the Studio. And I know the Studio has lately come out with a number of bits of canon that many people argue against, (BA Necron brofist) but I manage to maintain my belief regardless.