Into the fires of battle, unto the anvil of War!
Vulkan’s fire beats in my breast, With it we shall smite the foes of the Emperor!
We are forged in such flames, so we make war with it, clenched in our mailed fists.
@Heterodyne
Its on a need to know basics or on levels based on the planet
Cadians who deal with traitors and daemons every day rarely, unless its a clear they’ve been warped by chaos.
Others its ok to fight cults and traitor marines but daemons are right out.
Some its based on their faith level Tallarn had a major daemon battle that’s well know to them but their faith is stronger than normal so turning is unlikely
That’s a tough calculation to make, mainly because it’s impossible to get a straight answer on birth-to-casualty ratios. But population-wise, one million guardsmen is considered roughly equivalent to a “day’s production” on a typical hive world. Multiply that by the number of hive planets and you get a rough estimate on how many battle casualties the Imperium can withstand on a daily basis. (Presuming the birth rates on other worlds roughly counter the natural death rate in the Imperium at large, which is a fairly safe assumption given how many non-hive worlds there are.)
Again, very hard to guess how many casualties are actually sustainable, considering how many variables are involved. But when your empire is so big that the average planet is completely expendable, tossing a couple billion folks into the meatgrinder is quite doable. Just as well, when you consider the usual tactics of any Imperial general who isn’t named Creed.
@Kazapsky
Fair point. But one does wonder how many soldiers the Imperium can actually afford to torch after every single Chaos incursion. Sure, there are a billion worlds and uncounted billion souls to go around… But at least as much souls get eaten every day as are churned out onto the front lines.
The alternative was a coverup on a scale that would never function. Human nature is what it is. It’s the same reason most conspiracy theories collapse without much prodding - someone, somewhere, will spill the beans. It was either torch them there, or drop them into another warzone on a suicide mission.
What the Space Wolves did might have been morally right from a 3rd-millenium perspective, but Emperor only knows how many Chaos cults were started by scattering the folks in the know all over creation.
@Kazapsky
True enough. A lot of what the Inquisition does is basically necessary, or else risk entire planets falling into Chaos.
But torching every single poor bastard involved in the Armageddon War was a dick move of Kryptmanian proportions, and the Space Wolves rightly gave them the middle finger for it.
There is a legitimate reason, of sorts. Spreading knowledge about Chaos and its worshippers 1) can cause panic among the general populace, which the Imperium is already dealing with on more than enough fronts, and 2) opens new avenues for the heretics to gain converts. Since both the Dark Gods and the Emperor gain power based on how many worshippers they have, #2 is a major problem.
@Heterodyne
Thank you for that. I haven’t laughed that hard for while.
@DrNazus
If your wondering why this was chosen for Applejack and are generally uninterested in looking them up: The Salamanders are considered to be the most morally stand-up chapter in all the Imperium. Unlike other space marines who look down on the mere mortals, or simply disregard them, The Salamanders believe every citizen is a child of the Emperor of Mankind and deserves to be saved from whatever terrible thing that’s trying to kill them that day. They hold to the value so well that instead of secluding themselves in some big chapter fortress they actually live among the citizens of Nocturne, Their home planet.
@DrNazus
It’s a distinguishing feature of the Salamanders. Some quirk of the genetic code that gives them that appearance when they become of the Chapter.
@Heterodyne
Which was not only dickery of the highest order on the Inquisition’s end, but… stupid. You’d think allowing word of the First War for Armageddon to circulate would be a good idea. C’mon, a Daemon Primarch shows up in Segmentum Solar, gets his ass stomped…
@Background Pony
The Space Wolves score pretty high on the morality check too. Telling the Inquisition to fuck off and die when they wanted to put the entire Imperial Guard and PDF forces involved to the sword after the battle for Armageddon springs to mind.
Vulkan’s fire beats in my breast, With it we shall smite the foes of the Emperor!
We are forged in such flames, so we make war with it, clenched in our mailed fists.
https://youtu.be/HEZvChBy-sQ
Iron hooves:Because it fucking terrifying!
Its on a need to know basics or on levels based on the planet
Cadians who deal with traitors and daemons every day rarely, unless its a clear they’ve been warped by chaos.
Others its ok to fight cults and traitor marines but daemons are right out.
Some its based on their faith level Tallarn had a major daemon battle that’s well know to them but their faith is stronger than normal so turning is unlikely
Pride and stubbornness being the key traits
That’s a tough calculation to make, mainly because it’s impossible to get a straight answer on birth-to-casualty ratios. But population-wise, one million guardsmen is considered roughly equivalent to a “day’s production” on a typical hive world. Multiply that by the number of hive planets and you get a rough estimate on how many battle casualties the Imperium can withstand on a daily basis. (Presuming the birth rates on other worlds roughly counter the natural death rate in the Imperium at large, which is a fairly safe assumption given how many non-hive worlds there are.)
Again, very hard to guess how many casualties are actually sustainable, considering how many variables are involved. But when your empire is so big that the average planet is completely expendable, tossing a couple billion folks into the meatgrinder is quite doable. Just as well, when you consider the usual tactics of any Imperial general who isn’t named Creed.
Fair point. But one does wonder how many soldiers the Imperium can actually afford to torch after every single Chaos incursion. Sure, there are a billion worlds and uncounted billion souls to go around… But at least as much souls get eaten every day as are churned out onto the front lines.
The alternative was a coverup on a scale that would never function. Human nature is what it is. It’s the same reason most conspiracy theories collapse without much prodding - someone, somewhere, will spill the beans. It was either torch them there, or drop them into another warzone on a suicide mission.
What the Space Wolves did might have been morally right from a 3rd-millenium perspective, but Emperor only knows how many Chaos cults were started by scattering the folks in the know all over creation.
True enough. A lot of what the Inquisition does is basically necessary, or else risk entire planets falling into Chaos.
But torching every single poor bastard involved in the Armageddon War was a dick move of Kryptmanian proportions, and the Space Wolves rightly gave them the middle finger for it.
There is a legitimate reason, of sorts. Spreading knowledge about Chaos and its worshippers 1) can cause panic among the general populace, which the Imperium is already dealing with on more than enough fronts, and 2) opens new avenues for the heretics to gain converts. Since both the Dark Gods and the Emperor gain power based on how many worshippers they have, #2 is a major problem.
@Heterodyne
@Jagger
Alright, thanks. I’m never sure if I’ve got the right links when looking Space Marine stuff up. Don’t know why.
Thank you for that. I haven’t laughed that hard for while.
@DrNazus
If your wondering why this was chosen for Applejack and are generally uninterested in looking them up: The Salamanders are considered to be the most morally stand-up chapter in all the Imperium. Unlike other space marines who look down on the mere mortals, or simply disregard them, The Salamanders believe every citizen is a child of the Emperor of Mankind and deserves to be saved from whatever terrible thing that’s trying to kill them that day. They hold to the value so well that instead of secluding themselves in some big chapter fortress they actually live among the citizens of Nocturne, Their home planet.
Further information, for your reading pleasure.
It’s a distinguishing feature of the Salamanders. Some quirk of the genetic code that gives them that appearance when they become of the Chapter.
Rational thought is Double Heresy. Never forget.
You’d think, aye. But nobody ever accused the Inquisition of rational thought.
Which was not only dickery of the highest order on the Inquisition’s end, but… stupid. You’d think allowing word of the First War for Armageddon to circulate would be a good idea. C’mon, a Daemon Primarch shows up in Segmentum Solar, gets his ass stomped…
Ayep. The Wolves have BALLS.
Not to mention interposing their own ships between the Inquisitorial cruisers and the Guard transports to prevent them from doing that.
The Space Wolves score pretty high on the morality check too. Telling the Inquisition to fuck off and die when they wanted to put the entire Imperial Guard and PDF forces involved to the sword after the battle for Armageddon springs to mind.
What about the
WolfSpace Wolves?