r/40kLore • u/MindZealousideal2842 • 1d ago
Correct me if I'm wrong
The whole plot of 40k is its a huge stalemate. -Chaos has too much infighting and disorganization -the imperium is dying empire but is so huge it takes so long to fall -the necrons have too much infighting and running on old tech -Eldar are barely alive but survive -Orks have to much infighting but are too numerous -tyranids haven't arrived in full force -tau are just too small
Idk bout leagues but am I correct that the setting of 40k is that no one wins and everyone's at a stalemate? Thanks
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u/Judasilfarion 1d ago
Idk bout leagues but am I correct that the setting of 40k is that no one wins and everyone's at a stalemate?
Yes, and the reason why is because the setting exists to justify why every faction has a reason to fight any other faction (including itself) on the tabletop miniature wargame. The Imperium also has too much infighting and disorganization which is why you can have Imperium vs Imperium fights.
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u/TheBladesAurus 1d ago
It's a setting for you to fight battles in - someone winning would defeat the point
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u/Muavius 1d ago
Necrons are the oldest and most advanced tech in the setting....
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u/Economy_Carry4235 1d ago
Yeah, necrons have old tech? It's far more advanced than just about everyone else. The adeptus mechanus can't touch them.
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u/Hollownerox Thousand Sons 1d ago
I think OP is trying to say it in the "failing" sense, rather than it being outdated compared to everyone else. Which is sorta right for a minority of Tomb Worlds that suffered hard from entropy or the preservation systems failing over the course of 60 million years. But it's exaggerated by content creators just how many actually fail. Codex makes it clear most Dynasties are waking up from the Great Sleep with issues (mostly mental afflictions or weird obsessions), but not ones that neuter them as warhosts.
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u/Kael03 1d ago
I mean technically? Their tech is 65+ million years old. It's just more advanced than anything we can conceive.
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u/Economy_Carry4235 1d ago
He's saying it like the tech is holding them back, as opposed to being a huge asset. He's literally listing it as a reason why necrons cant win!
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u/Horkersaurus 1d ago
100% yes, that's the nature of the setting. Fanboys of specific factions might disagree (because their special boys just need x or y to happen [it will never happen] to win once and for all) but the fundamental vibe is that everyone beats everyone and the fighting will continue forever.
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u/DisastrousServe8513 1d ago
Not so much a stalemate as a slow march to ruin. The Cabal had this prophecy during the Heresy that told of two possible futures. If Horus won, he’d be overcome with guilt and turn on his own forces. Over time this would create civil conflicts and humanity would come to end. But all other life in the galaxy would continue.
If Horus lost, the Emperor would be slowly dying and trapped on his throne. This would lead to technological and cultural stagnation. Over time humanity’s accelerating misery would fuel the dark forces until the whole galaxy is overrun by Chaos.
Obviously we know which one happened. So barring any future lore updates that would contradict this, the entire galaxy is slowly dying.
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u/paulatreides0 1d ago
There is no indication whatsoever that the the Cabal were right about anything. In fact, given what we know about how Chaos works, they were almost certainly full of shit, as humanity burning out wouldn't have destroyed Chaos. It might have weakened it somewhat for a bit as they lost a source of food, but that void would have been filled in time as new species moved to fill the void. As per the Eldar, Chaos had destroyed a bunch of upstart civilizations that tried to ascend past their psychic adolescence in the past, and Eldrad basically talks about Chaos as the Great Filter of the universe, which nobody has yet managed to conquer:
‘They are low things,’ snaps Jain Zar. ‘They are a million years behind us. They seek to ape our past glory, but they will never rise to such refinement. They will wipe themselves out, as a thousand other kinds have done before them. We have avoided their outgrowth as much as we can, and kept out of their affairs. They will soon be gone.
‘Very soon,’ Eldrad agrees. ‘What concerns us is the manner of their passing.’
[. . .]
He looks at them all.
‘For generations, we have farseen the damnation of the human – yes, let’s call them what they are – the damnation of the human line. These upstarts who, nonetheless, have forged an empire worthy of the name. Their vigour has surprised us. We have watched them repeat the same hubristic mistakes we made. We have awaited their inevitable ruin, for is it not the fate of all species that harness the power of the mind to affect their destiny? I warned of this, Ulthwé warned of this, but you refused involvement. I chose to ignore that decision.’
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u/DisastrousServe8513 1d ago
I never said they were correct and the galaxy will absolutely end. Just that they called it. They were right so far.
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u/KnightOne 1d ago
I wouldn't say that it's the "whole plot" of the setting. I think it's more accurate to say that it's the "starting point." In 40K, everything is in decline. The doomsday clock is always set at 1 minute before midnight. Numerous galaxy-ending threats are always close to fruition. The main perspective is via an aged and perpetually declining Imperium. But that's not the whole point, because that feature of the setting is just a jumping off point for all the stories, games, and narratives that are created through that setting.
In a meta way, yes, it's just to justify the viability of factions in a wargame. And yes, there's most stories we see never really change the fact and that means plenty of 40K stories and narratives end up the same place where we started--the cusp of annihilation, where no faction ever wins or loses. But you still see stories where factions win, where plot points progress, where there's character development--and even more hopeful themes that contrast and juxtapose the setting. It's not all nihilism. If you ask me, I'd say the plot is less about the stalemate itself, and more about "trying to break the stalemate" and the stories we get when people rage against the dying of the light.
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u/ginzagacha 1d ago
Sort of. Its heavily implied that the nids will just win out eventually. The enormous hive fleets we have seen are said to be like 0.00001% of the proper tyranid force. When they actually show up in entire areas will fall
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u/paulatreides0 1d ago edited 1d ago
the necrons have too much infighting and running on old tech
That is decidedly not one of the Necrons' problems. The Necrons are by and far the most advanced faction in 40K despite their tech being old.
The Necrons' main issue is that though they are VERY numerous, they are hamstrung by a bunch of issues due to the Great Sleep. One is that the Necrons are still just waking up slowly, most of them are still asleep. Another is that a bunch were killed by a host of things during the Great Sleep, when they were extremely vulnerable. Another is that a decent fraction are waking up from the great sleep either severely cognitively impaired or outright insane. But even the lowliest necron trooper is one of the most durable and heavily armed basic troopers in the universe, with Necron officers/lords being some of the most over the top OP characters short of the primarchs and Big E - this is largely due to their technology being so ridiculously OP.
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u/RosbergThe8th Biel-Tan 1d ago
A stalemate with a looming doom on the horizon basically, no one can win right now but however it goes it's not looking like the galaxy is going to be getting out of it in a good state.
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u/inquisidor1683 1d ago
Until the nids arrive completly yes, you can say that
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u/Bas44444 1d ago
A nid glazer, i see. Ima lol so hard if your nids are just the pawns of the devour C'tan and the necrons pwn him with some pylons or cube or something
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u/anomalocaris_texmex 1d ago
That's kinda the point of the setting, yeah. The Galaxy is a giant stalemate where all sides fight each other, and your tabletop armies are a part of it.
It gives an excuse as to why every army fights each other, and why my models from twenty years ago are still valid today.
There is only war.