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Primaris Space Marines

2018-07-25T11:04:12Z

2001:67C:2660:425:21B:21FF:FED3:61DC:

[[File:New40KPrimarisArt1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Look out Chaos, there's a new kid on the block.]]
{{Topquote|They were forged for Mankind's darkest hour, and that hour is upon us.|[[Roboute Guilliman]]}}
{{Topquote|In a galaxy wreathed in darkness, we must be the light.|Unnamed Primaris Officer}}
{{Topquote|Today, we are canceling the apocalypse!|Marshal Stacker Pentecost, from the movie Pacific Rim}}

Primaris Space Marines (also known as Primaris Marines, Ultra-Ultramarines, Space Space Marines, Primarines, NuMarines, Chadmarines, [[Ultramarines: The Movie|The Greater-est of them all]], Adeptus Restartes, Gigglymarines, Super Space Marines, Biglymarines, Space-marine Space-marine Space-Marines, 8thmarines, Bigmars, [[Stormcast Eternals|Spacesigmarines]], Guillimarines, Special Snowflake Marines, [[Mary Sue|Primarysues]], Ultra-Ultrasmurfs, Marines II: Electric Boogaloo, the Replacements and the New Kids) - are the next step forward in [[Space Marine]] evolution (not counting the [[Raptor]] supermarines by [[Corax]] during the [[Horus Heresy]] before [[Alpharius]] spiked the gene-tech with [[Daemon]] Blood). [[Roboute Guilliman|Big Bobby G]] got together with [[Belisarius Cawl]] and put together this next generation of Astartes. They are bigger, faster, stronger, and maybe smarter than all that have come before them. Buckle up boys, its about to get hot in here.

==History and Background==
Shortly after the conclusion of the Horus Heresy, Guilliman predicted that another major Chaos attack on the Imperium might come at some point in the future. Though the Space Marines had proven themselves worthy defenders of Mankind, the Primarch foresaw that there might be a time where even they would struggle against the onslaught of the Ruinous Powers - [[Derp|because Roboute himself broke Legions in chapters]], and those tend to have problems fighting Black Crusades against ''hundreds of thousands'' CSM (the reason why Dorn declined Codex Astartes at first, being one of the few after the Scouring to suppose the Traitor Legions may be back one day). But nowadays it turns out Guilliman knew about it as well - which makes the whole situation awkward to say the least.

Ahem, in a frankly extreme show of [[just as planned]], our [[Spiritual Liege]] gained the aid of Archmagos Belisarius Cawl and began a program to create a new, superior form of Space Marines in secret over the next ten millennia. To assist him, Guilliman gave Cawl a relic called the Sangprimus Portum- a device containing the purest samples of each Primarch's [[/d/|genetic material]] that outstripped even the gene-seed in its potency.

Even after he was poisoned by [[Fulgrim]], Guilliman's plan continued without anybody learning about it, and by the time of his revival, Primaris Marines were ready to be unveiled to the Imperium - the only thing needed was a sanction from the Primarch himself.

In conjunction with the [[Ultima Founding]], there are now going to be entirely new chapters composed just of Primaris Marines as well, with some taking over the [[Fortress-Monastery|fortress-monasteries]] of extinct chapters.

However, in the Black Library novel "Dark Imperium", Guilliman calls Primarises "Cawl's blasphemous hordes". So much for daddy's love, eh?

==New Stuff==
*The basic Primaris Marine is encased in [[Power Armour#Mark X: Tacticus Armour|Mark X Tacticus Armour]]. Basically, it's the best of all the suits that came before it, wrapped up into one convenient package; no [[Beakie]] schnozz, but it's got that sweet Maximus style vox grill. As usual, mechanically this is entirely cosmetic.
**[[Primarch#Two_Missing_Primarchs|We don't talk about Mark IX Power Armour]].
**Bigger, tougher Primaris Marines wear [[Power_Armour#Mark_X:_Gravis_Armour|Mark X Gravis Armour]]. As of 8E, this translates to +1T. Shiny.
**Reivers wear [[Power Armour#Mark X: Phobos Armour|Mark X Phobos Armour]], sleeker-looking, with <strike>crocs, capris, and</strike> skull-faced helmets.
*They wield the [[Bolt#Bolt Rifle|Mark II Cawl-pattern Bolt rifle]] as their standard firearm. Apparently a "perfected" version of the ubiquitous bolter, it does have an improved statline - 30" Rapid Fire 1 S4 AP-1 D1 - which appears to be a boltgun with an extended barrel.
**Its statline is one AP worse than the new "Special Issue Boltgun" Sternguard carry, but their big selling point is some combination of being cheaper/easier to manufacture and using more readily available/cheaper/easier to manufacture ammunition, reflected in their points cost - bolt rifles are the same gun for 3 points cheaper in 8E.
**At least two variants of Bolt Rifle exist- the Auto Bolt Rifle, which has lower AP and shorter ranges but offers greater mobility due to being Assault 2, and the Stalker Bolt Rifle, a Heavy 1 sniper variant with superior range and one extra point of AP.
*An enhanced [[gene-seed]], which was created by combining the purified genetic material of the Loyalist Primarchs with parts of the [[Adeptus Custodes|Custodes]] creation process (as they don't have gene-seed) that adds 3 more organs to the existing 19. It's also worth noting that Cawl did something to make the Primaris Marines physically incapable of turning traitor. Guilliman's internal monologue in Dark Imperium reveals that he considers it an impossibility for Primarines to turn, unlike "the old breed". This has interesting implications about whether or not the Primaris marines truly have free will, assuming that they truly are unable to fall to Chaos- it is just as likely that they haven't been active long enough for any corruption to take hold yet.
**The new organs are:
***'''Sinew Coils''', which turn the Primaris Marines into [[Wat|Inspector Gadget]]....okay, we may be joking here, but it's basically metallic coils wrapped around the Marine's tendons and ligaments that can contract with extreme force.
****This is particularly interesting, as it's not actually a living organ, and hence is presumably not developed from gene-seed at all.
***'''The Magnificat''', which just sets the rest of the superhuman organs into overdrive (and is itself part of a super-organ dubbed the '''Immortis Gland''' intended for Primarchs, though the information needed to complete it is lost), as well as producing additional growth hormone.
***'''Belisarian Furnace''' (because Cawl gets a robo-boner for naming things after himself), essentially a 'last-stand' organ, which gives a Primaris Marine a supercharged adrenaline rush near death while triggering rapid tissue and bone regeneration. This presumably explains the additional Wound they have.

==Potential Problems==
* Primaris marines were made from all extant Loyalist genelines, and thanks to the material made available to [[Belisarius Cawl]] through the Sangprimus Portum, show little to none of the idiosyncrasies that usually mark the bloodlines of [[Space Wolves|Russ]] and [[Blood Angels|Sanguinius]]. Not only that, but according to an (admittedly biased) in-universe source, there's only a .001% chance of genetic deviation per generation, which means that the Primaris genestock are incredibly stable as well. Interestingly, thanks to Cawl's work Chapters that have lost organs through the centuries (like the [[Imperial Fists]]) or have malfunctioning organs (like the [[Raven Guard]]) all of a sudden have a complete set of organs thanks to the influx of new Primaris blood.
** This means of course that Chapters like the [[Space Wolves]], who due to the same quirks of their genetics were unable to ''have'' successors, [[Wolfspear|can now have them]], without fear of them devolving into [[Wulfen]] in one generation. Despite this stability, some people (see [[Flesh Tearers|Gabriel Seth]]) aren't too happy at this flagrant tinkering with the Emperor's work.
** It's worth noting that in the '''Kill Team Focus: The Adeptus Astartes''', [[Black Dragons]] Reivers with bone mutations are mentioned. Maybe this is due to the purposeful mutation farming by the Black Dragons, or maybe the mutation rate is higher than Daddy Cawl cares to admit.
* Despite being bigger, stronger, and much faster than "regular" Astartes, what the Primaris initially lacked was actual battlefield experience (a fact bemoaned by Captain Felix of the [[Ultramarines]] in ''Dark Imperium'' to have been the cause of most of the initial losses to the Primaris). While this has been mostly been offset by the long and hard Indomitus Crusade campaign, even after a hundred-odd years of war the average Primaris marine is looked upon as a relative greenhorn by regular Astartes veterans. They have a lot to prove to their adopted Chapters as a result.
** We get little hints of this having to prove themselves goodness in, the Dark Angels codex. A group of Hellblasters are half put off, half inspired by the strictness of their primogenitor. After the squad gets trapped in a hive city for days fighting off enemies, they rack up so many kills even Belial can't help but smile.
*The Dark Angel example above illustrates another problem: how well will the new Primaris Marines get along with their chapter? The Dark Angels are an extreme example given their <s>issues</s> UNSWERVING LOYALTY TO THE IMPERIUM, but other chapters may have their own problems getting the first couple batches of Primaris marines to get with the traditions and cultures of their chapters.
**As the Primaris have no Terminators ([[skub|Aggressors are debatable]]) or Biker units or any real equivalents. (Yet, if GW thought that far ahead.) I.e. Hellblasters and Inceptors can be deployed in place of Sternguard and Vanguard Veterans in other chapters. With the exception of Primaris Librarians, induction into the Inner Circle or the lower ranks of the Ravenwing is unlikely.
*Chaos will be interested in the Primaris Marines. The [[Chaos Gods]] are not happy with the existence of the Primaris Marines, and are creating some warp charged warriors to counter them (enhanced Chosen, perhaps). [[Fabius Bile|Fabulous Bill]] became obsessed with "perfecting" the Primaris Marines from the moment he first encountered them and has already begun trying to kidnap Primaris Marines for dissection. They've supposedly been made resistant to Chaos influence, but "resistant" doesn't mean "immune" by a long shot, since they still have a soul. In fact a [[Noxious Blightbringer]] is able to effect them in Dark Imperium, successfully hurting and trying to get them to turn. And come to think of it, the cover image of 8th Edition does seem to partially show a [[Plague Marine]] in Tacitus armor...
**The discovery that Cawl wanted to use Traitor Legion gene-seed as well as the gene-seed of the missing legions to make Primaris Marines doesn't help the matter; Guilliman refused to let him do so, but he has a feeling Cawl will try it anyway with predictable results.
***Cawl claims that it was only due to the influence of the traitorous Primarchs that their Legions fell to Chaos. While this may be true, attempting to test that theory would almost certainly be a bad idea.
****The [[Sons of the Phoenix]] exist.
***The reasons as to why the the Lost Legions were purged so thoroughly were apparently so unthinkably horrible (so much that even after his rebellion had begun, Horus was still unwilling to break the vow he made to never speak of the Missing Primarchs) that Cawl trying to use their DNA might bite him in the ass even harder than for using gene-seed from the Traitor Primarchs.
*While barely explored in-universe so far, the various alien races in the setting may also take exception to or dangerous interest in the Primaris Marines.[[Urien Rakarth]] has expressed interest in them in spite of what he calls Guilliman's "lack of imagination", and has requested his [[Haemonculus|Haemonculi]] bring as many to him as possible; more unnervingly, he has expressed that he will be saving his best oubliette for the Primarch if he ever wished to "learn from the master". It would be equally unsurprising if [[Illuminor Szeras|a certain spider-legged robot mad scientist]] also wanted to collect a few Primaris specimens. The rest of the alien races, fortunately, are much less interested in genetic modification and would be more likely to view them as being more or less like any other Space Marine.
* The book "War of Secrets" has the Primaris Marines of the Dark Angels (and by implication, all Primaris Marines of Terran stock) heavily influenced by the culture of Mars: they call the Emperor the Omnissiah, reverently call their creator 'Pater Cawl', and swear to the glory of "chapter, Terra and Mars". This raises the question of if they are more loyal to the Adeptus Mechanicus than the Imperium or even their own Chapter. Indeed, in the book its one of the main reasons the Dark Angels don't trust them.
* Another problem is simply one of character development. If the Primaris are free of any mutation, supposedly so resistant to Chaos that they are impossible to turn, and are stronger than their older counterparts, this might create a deep plot and writing pitfall for future Black Library books. Not like they don't deal with those already of course...

==Forces of the Primaris Marines==
[[File:Blood Raven 1.JPG|300px|thumb|right|"[[Roboute Guilliman|Lord Commander]], the batch 3789-Alpha is missing! Just after the visit of..." "[[Just as Planned|I know.]]"]]
Primaris Marines don't get to select from a variety of equipment loadouts, but the equipment they do carry is designed by [[Cawl]], who is shockingly competent, so they usually outgun their non-Primaris equivalents who tried to choose an otherwise identical loadout; this forces them to depend on other units to support them to fill in any gaps (much like Eldar Aspect Warriors). They enjoy, as of 8E, +1W and +1A relative to a regular marine, making them more durable and a lot more dangerous in melee combat. Some of them wear [[Power_Armour#Mark_X:_Gravis_Armour|Mark X Gravis Armour]], for another +1T.
*'''[[Primaris Captain|Primaris Captain:]]''' Primaris Captains are the analogues of [[Space Marine]] Captains. They are decked out in the new Gravis Armor which somehow manages to be even ''MOAR'' egg-shaped than a [[Squat]] [[Hearthguard]]. They're armed with a mini-Gauntlet of Ultramar/Hand of Dominion (I.E. a three-shot bolt pistol built into a power fist) and a master-crafted power sword. Others use the Mark X Tacitus power armor and wield a power sword and their choice of Stalker Boltgun or Auto Bolt Rifle. There's also a plasma pistol and power fist model exclusive to Games Workshop stores celebrating their anniversaries.
*'''[[Primaris Librarian|Primaris Librarian:]]''' Just what it sounds like. Has a fancy-looking Force Sword.
*'''[[Primaris Chaplain|Primaris Chaplain:]]''' Self-explanatory; they wear black robes as though they're aping on the [[Interrogator-Chaplain]]s. In battle, they wear an Iron Halo and carry a Crozius Arcanum alongside a specialized Absolver Bolt Pistol. To double down on the skull motif, their breastplate looks like a ribcage.
*'''[[Primaris Lieutenant|Primaris Lieutenants:]]''' The Primaris Lieutenants are somewhere between a Captain and a Sergeant in rank, and are often the most experienced of a Primaris Squad. Their role is to take command of demi-companies when the Captain is absent, freeing Chaplains and Librarians to focus on their own specialties. Lieutenants are differentiated from their fellow marines by a red-on-white stripe on their helms. Some of them can be helmetless which often showcase an extreme amount of Hair-esy. They can either use a power sword or a master-crafted automatic version of the Bolt Rifle (shorter range and worse ap, but better rate of fire at long range, fireable after Advancing, and more damage per shot from being master-crafted).
*'''[[Primaris Ancient|Primaris Ancients:]]''' Primaris Marines dubbed honorable enough to have the privilege of carrying the Standard's Banner. Identifiable by their white helmets (although that could change depending on the Chapter), they are in no way related to another [[Tarkus|dude-clad-in-power-armor-wearing-a-white-helmet-that-also-comes-with-the-same-name-from-a-certain-WH40K-game]]. At least until he's been upgraded. In case you were wondering, "Ancient" is a corruption of the rank of "Ensign" which was a term for an army's flagbearer in the Middle Ages, so it has nothing to do with how old the Marine in question actually is.
*'''[[Primaris Apothecary|Primaris Apothecary:]]''' A specialization of Primaris Marine first seen in artwork and promo photos, and now has rules and a model. Their left bracer appears to have a screen on it for monitoring lifesigns, and they have a pistol with a reductor built into it for geneseed removal (and the occasional puncturing of enemy skulls). The Narthecium attached to a <s>cyberdong</s> mechadendrite on the Apothecary's back.
*'''Primaris Techmarine:''' One of them acts as the pintle gunner for the Repulsor Tank. That's about all we know.
*'''[[Reiver|Reivers:]]''' Reivers are Space Marines created from the gene-seed of [[Sly Marbo]]. Think [[Catachan Jungle Fighters]] in [[Power Armor]]. It's time to piss yourselves, [[Chaos Space Marines|traitorous scum.]] Reivers are the only true close-combat specialist Infantry for the Primaris and are pretty good at it overall. Compared to Intercessors they have a Combat Knife for another attack and an improved Bolt Pistol with greater Armour Penetration, and the ability to negatively effect enemy morale. They can be equipped for more ranged combat but that is not why you take them. They have Deep-Strike option like everyone else, but also a new grappling hook that allows them to both outflank and jump-up ruins like they're nothing. But arguably their biggest trump-card is their special grenade that causes effected units to lose both their overwatch and minus one to shooting. While not the most devastating CC unit in the game they make excellent back-field harassers and synergize wonderfully with the rest of your army with their ability to cripple enemy gun-lines.
*'''[[Aggressor|Aggressors:]]''' Aggressors are basically Primaris [[Terminators]] mixed in with [[Centurion Squad|Centurions]], but with a 3+ save. They have an even more specialized Gravis armor, and either an automatic version of the Primaris Captain's Boltstorm Gauntlet paired with shoulder-mounted grenade launchers or a flamer-equipped version of said gauntlet dubbed the Flamestorm gauntlet. Regardless of what they're equipped with, they specialize in close-range firepower that obliterates light infantry.
*'''[[Intercessor|Intercessors:]]''' Also known as incestors. Intercessors are the <s>standard</s> SUPER bolter Marines, having most in common with a bare-bones tactical squad as they're armed with Primaris versions of the same things (such as their super bolters and Mk X armour). Compared to tacticals, they perform better in melee and have greater armour penetration on their basic weapons along with being more survivable, making them effective in a wider variety of situations. This is both a strength and a weakness, as while they may be bigger Jacks of all trades, they're even worse masters of nothing. Compared to Tacticals they have fewer weapon and transport options and only one type of heavy weapon choice. This might be part of the reason that other Primaris Marines are more specialized: to compensate/synergize. As Primaris specialists may be more vulnerable to heavy firepower and be fire-magnets, Intercessors with their flexibility they can more reliably protect other more valuable units and plug any holes that arise from specialist losses, or make themselves useful against any foe until the hard-hitting second wave arrives (being the most versatile as far as Primaris Marines go).
*'''[[Inceptor|Inceptors:]]''' Inceptors are the <strike>[[Assault Marines]] equivalent</strike> drop troops of the Primaris Marines and are equipped with a new pattern of Jump Packs, two Assault Bolters, which are basically sawn off Heavy Bolters, a pair of hand-portable Plasma Cannons, and a pair of [[Derp|absolutely ridiculous-looking shoe-shovels.]] Unlike Assault Squads, the Inceptors' focus is on firepower and a pseudo Hammer of Wrath. This makes them closer in role to Assault Bikes as a fast moving strafing unit and harasser. They lack melee weapons of any kind; this doesn't mean they can't fight in melee, as their sheer weight allows them to crush their enemies to death, and they still have the statline of "normal" Primaris marines along with being even tougher to hurt, making them not completely useless in a scrap. Don't get it in your head that their melee ability is "good", though, or even decent, and only engage in melee if you have to; they do far better blowing things into tiny pieces.
*'''[[Hellblaster|Hellblasters:]]''' Hellblasters are Primaris Marines who make Flash Gitz green(er) with envy. They use [[Plasma#Plasma Incinerator|Plasma Incinerators]], enhanced Plasma Guns with longer range and armor piercing ability. Aside from that, there's nothing special about them as compared to "regular" Primaris marines. Very expensive and vulnerable to strong weapons, but they fuck up TEQs and can pose a threat to vehicles if they can get into Rapid Fire range, though outside of said range it's not as suicidal to unload a charged volley, so they can threaten vehicles there, too. Also, with the changes to how cover works, they are terrifying against cover campers. With how big a fire magnet these guys are, if you get these guys close to an expensive or dangerous vehicle or multiwound TEQs feel free to HELLBLAST them into oblivion in a suicide barrage. (That is, IF they're at risk of being wiped out or swarmed.)
*'''[[Redemptor Dreadnought|Primaris Redemptor Dreadnought:]]''' For no matter how great and glorious they may be, [[Grimdark|in the grim future even they are not immortal]]. Though how enough of these brand spanking-new Space Marines were curbstomped just enough to warrant Dreadnought status, we'll (probably) never know (hundreds of thousands of Primaris fighting in the over a century long indomitus crusade may be the answer). Times be desperate, yo. Probably because they're so hard to kill that just about all of them that couldn't be saved are made dread-ful.
*'''[[Repulsor_Tank|Repulsor]]:''' The Repulsor is the standard transport and/or tank (nobody's entirely sure yet) of the Primaris Marines. Which is good for them, because they can't go inside standard Space Marine transports, including ones that can hold Terminators, Centurions, and (in 30k) even fucking ''Primarchs.'' There must be [[Profit|some mysterious force surpassing even the Emperor]] blocking the door - which also blocks the door on this thing if you try to convince a ''non''-Primaris to go inside. Being a floating [[METAL BOXES|Metal Box]], it might be considered the spiritual successor to the [[Grav-Rhino]], if you covered said Grav-Rhino with missile pods everywhere, including on its rear and sides, put twin-linked lascannon in the front hull, and gave it what looks like a [[Fail|heavy stubber]] as a coaxial gun to go with the turret lascannon and pintle-mounted Gatling gun.
*'''Overlord:''' The Overlord is the Primaris-exclusive dropship used to support the bigger frames of the Primaris Marines. You would think the [[Thunderhawk]] would be big enough for them, but it seems they are ''too'' [[Mary Sue|special]] to share the same vehicle with their smaller brothers. Anyways, the Overlord is noticeable for one thing. It is '''ECKS BAWKS HUEG''', making a Thunderhawk look like a [[Stormtalon]] in comparison. In terms of specs, it is the [[Corvus Blackstar]] on steroids. Seriously, it has powerful quintuple engines and twinned hulls thick enough to permit insertion from orbit, like Thunderhawks or Stormbirds, and like Blackstars, Overlords possess twin transport bays with their own assault doors, but they're considerably bigger (they can carry up to 40 of your Chadmarines) and even more blessed with advanced technologies like fucking [[AWESOME|energy shields]] ([[Heresy|Guess Cawl kind of]] [[Blood Ravens|'borrowed']] [[Extra Heresy|some of that sweet ass energy shields from the]] [[Eldar|pointy-eared gitz]]). Additionally, the Overlord is equipped with anti-munitions cannons, wing-mounted Desolator Lascannons, nose-mounted Melta Cannons and Heavy Bolters fixed on its lower wing surfaces. This thing is pretty much a flying [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|Titan]] or an Imperial [[Manta]].
*'''[[Astraeus|Astraeus Super-Heavy Tank]]:''' Surely the result of a grudging 3-way between a Mastodon, a Sicaran, and a somewhat reluctant Repulsor, the Astraeus is the first Primaris super-heavy tank (implying there will be more variants on the way) and looking to be an utter beast on the tabletop - it's armed with Land Raider style frontal Heavy Bolter mount, two front angled sponsons for Las-Rippers or Plasma Eradicators, topped with a turret mounted dual Macro-Accelerator Cannon. Given how expensive it is to field a decently kitted repulsor, it remains to be seen how viable it will be to concentrate so many points into one vehicle.

==On the Tabletop==
Crunch wise, Primaris Space Marines are about as physically dangerous as Space Marines are already supposed to be fluff-wise, so they get an additional Attack and an additional Wound; weapons which deal additional Wounds seem to be fairly common now, so while it might not be a big improvement it can still be helpful. However, they also have exclusive access to shiny new toys from Cawl, including a "basically Kraken" Bolter with +6" range and -1 AP, a Plasma gun with +6" range and -4 AP, and half-range [[AWESOME|one-handed Assault Heavy Bolters and Plasma Cannons. That they dual-wield. With jump packs.]] Defensively, so far only they have access to Gravis armor, which grants +1 Toughness (and even then only the Captain, Aggressors, and Inceptors can use it). Finally, their squads don't mix weapon types, with all members carrying the same loadout; whether this will be a benefit or a downside relative to "standard" marines being able to carry a mixed loadout remains to be seen with the other new rules in 8th, such as the ability of any squad to split its fire across multiple targets.

Most of the Primaris units so far also cost nearly twice as many points as their older counterparts and have unit sizes no larger than a <del>5</del> 10 model maximum (including the Serge). This strongly suggests they will be more useful as a supplement to standard Marine forces than they might be as outright replacements; they're far too inflexible and expensive to be fielded effectively on their own, and their lack of melee specialists and access to weaponry with a range greater than 36" is a glaring flaw (for now) as well. And while their movement is no worse than any other Marine, for reasons that totally aren't financial in origin they can't take '''any''' transports usable by standard Marines. Not [[Rhino|Rhinos]], not [[Drop Pods]], not [[Land Raider|Land Raiders]], not even the motherfucking [[Mastodon]]. They can use the Thunderhawk, but odds are you're not going to have room for it in your standard 2000 points game, and even then, it has to be carrying only Primaris Marines (and in that case, it still can't carry too many). They have a special transport called a Repulsor (which is a [[Awesome|grav tank]]), which somehow can't carry non-Primaris, but besides that they have no choice but to go footslogging.

However, single-model units can be astonishingly efficient - the most extreme case is the Primaris Librarian, who has a static, unchangeable loadout, but costs the exact same as a non-Primaris Librarian with the same loadout (a bolt pistol and Force Sword).

===Rules Datasheets===
<gallery>
File:New40kPrimarisCaptainAgainFull.jpg|Stats for the Captain. GW is being awfully generous with these datasheets.
File:New40kIntercessorDatasheet.jpg|Behold the Intercessor Datasheet (thanks GW!).
File:New40kPrimarisInceptorVersion2Full.jpg|The Inceptor rules, sadly the shoe-shovels have no stats.
File:Hellblaster stats.jpeg|Hellblaster stats, because leaks are great for those on the outside. Note how when their guns explode they die, rather than take damage.
</gallery>

==Gallery==
===Miniatures===
<gallery>
File:Captain1.jpg|A Primaris Captain channeling the [[meme|Juggernaut BITCH!]]
File:Lieutenant1.jpg|Primaris Lieutenants, not quite butter bars, not quite seasoned
File:Ancient1.jpg|I am NOT [[Tarkus]]!
File:40kPrimarisLibReveal1.jpg|Being a Librarian ain't easy.
File:40kPreviewJuly23_Chaplain8h-500x466.jpg|The Chaplain. Totally not [[Blizzard|Reaper from Overwatch]].
File:40kPreviewJuly23_Apothecary2n-500x461.jpg|The Apothecary.
File:Intercessor2.jpg|Super Smurfs!
File:Reivers.jpg|Surprise Motherfucker!!
File:Helblaster1.jpg|An entire ''squad'' of Super-Smurfs with upgraded Plasma Guns.
File:Inceptor1.jpg|Inceptors! Now capable of flying and skiing! Inspired by Youjo Senki?
File:IMG-20171123-WA0005.jpg|Lieutenant Tolmeron pulling a charge pose with his saber. Now all you need to do is mount him on a horse and you're golden.
File:IMG-20171123-WA0002.jpg|Lieutenant Zakariah. Look at how smug his face is, like he has just <s>apprehended the Fallen </s> CLEARED ALL HERETICS FROM THE SECTOR
</gallery>

===Pictures===
<gallery>
File:Space_Marine_Squared.png|A Squad of Intercessors about to go to town on some greenskins. Aren't they beautiful?
File:Redemptor_Dreadnought.PNG|I HAVE LEGS! I HAVE FULLY ARTICULATED LEGS!
File:Chad marine hover tank.png|Guilliman and Cawl have figured out how to build hover tanks once more!
File:Aggressors.jpg|The Aggressors box.
File:PassiveAgressors.jpg|Passive Aggressors, ready to make catty remarks at the enemy
File:Chap&apoc.png|Grainy sighting of a Primaris Apothecary and Chaplain.
</gallery>

===Assorted===
<gallery>
File:PrimarisBigBoy.png
File:Adeptus Astronimus.jpg
File:PrimarisLightyear.jpg|Primaris Marine of the Galactic Rangers chapter.
File:Primaris_comparison.png|Numarine, the carefree playboy, and Oldmarine, the grizzled vigilante. [[Batman|Have you ever seen them in the same art together?]]
File:Primaris vs chaos by theangrymarine-dccr2jv.png|The new kid always gets picked on.
</gallery>

{{Primaris Marine-Forces}}

Gav Thorpe

2018-07-24T23:24:09Z

2001:67C:2660:425:21B:21FF:FED3:61DC:

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'''Gav Thorpe''' is one of the many writers in [[Games Workshop|GW's]] development department. He is the one largely responsible for the [[Skub|grand mother bull moose of all mixed blessings]] that was the 4th edition Codex: [[Chaos Space Marines]], as well as the transition from the golden age of [[Warhammer Fantasy]] into the literal [[End Times]]. The former was a huge subject of [[RAGE]] and <nowiki>win</nowiki>Dread, compartmentalized in one work that has drawn both many supporters - and many completely justified haters. The latter was just shit.

He has since moved into writing for [[Black Library]], working on almost everything that has anything to do with the [[Eldar]] (most notably the Path of the Eldar trilogy). Gav also wrote the script for the Warhammer Fantasy game [[Warhammer: Mark of Chaos]].

==Why the controversy?==
To put it inoffensively and politely: Generally his writing is bad and nowhere near as good as far more prominent writers. In particular, he's the guy behind the gloriously bad and cheesy ending to Storm of Chaos. He was quite terrible at the time, and he's always shown a very erratic understanding of even the most "historical" characters of Fantasy and 40k, as well as a sense of mystery, which others like [[Matt Ward]] also seem to lack. His [[Dark Angels]] work is also a point of contention, with some claiming it to be even worse than the [[Blood Angels]] series by [[James Swallow]].
Another thing that drew the ire from a many fa/tg/uys is his usage of made up gender neutral pronouns(ve,vis,ver etc.) in his recent works. His usage of made up pronouns instead of using it or they was seen as pandering to the SJW crowd.

While most of his writing has left a bad taste in the mouth of the community, his work on the 6th edition Warhammer Fantasy army books is generally praised. In particular, Hordes Of Chaos (when all of Chaos, minus the [[Skaven]], was one faction) and [[Dwarfs]] are beloved to fans of those armies. On the OTHER hand, he was the Loremaster for Fantasy at the time, and he was far from light-handed with it, even at what was arguably the high point in his career.

==And then there's the elves...==
Among the best examples of his writing style's flaws on display is his infamous views on elves, specifically that "[[Derp|there are as many elves as the plot demands]]." In one story they can write off the death of a million during a grand victory, but in the next the death of a hundred is a tragedy from which their race will never recover. Either way they will always be a dying race (with no word on how the [[High Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|High Elves]] or [[Dark Elves (Warhammer Fantasy)|Dark Elves]] replenish their numbers for these huge wars with each other). This is to say nothing of his requirement that Elves retain the traits of the Eldar (souls eaten by Slaanesh, never worship Chaos) and the constant need to retcon anything that doesn't fit his very 40k-centric view of Warhammer lore.

Thorpe's trademark is his whiny sentimental approach to writing elves: it's a formula meant to instill a sense of grand loss in the reader, which only works the first two or three times before it gets irritating. Worse still, he applies the same methodology to the Dark Angels and [[Raven Guard]]. Thorpe was basically [[Edgy|that morose emo kid who cuts himself and seemingly never grew out of it]].

==Chaos in the 4th Edition Codex==
With regards to his [[skub|contentious]] handling of the Chaos Space Marines Codex, it's worth noting that the very character-filled and developed army lists of the previous Codex: CSM were replaced with much-more-generic-flavor army lists. It can undeniably support many forces much better now and is considerably <s>more balanced from a crunch standpoint</s> less un-fucking-usable than some of what the previous Codex brought to the table in terms of bullshit (+5 points for +1 I awesome possum noise marines!). It also completely removed several if not all options for viable wepons, utterly buttfucking any possibility of running variant legions. If you were running a Night Lords stealth army, an Iron Warriors warband with additional heavy support, or an Alpha Legion cult strike force, you would find that the new rules simply don't give much to let you keep playing the way you originally did. Hell, several normal CSM troops were rendered fucking useless: Raptors and Obliterators are no longer hard-capped, but special rules for Word Bearer champions, Iron Warriors Warsmiths, and Alpha Legion cultists are all completely absent. Faction-specific armies didn't suffer anywhere near as much - except in one critical role:

''''''Daemons.'''''

Chaos lost ''all'' faction-and-Chaos-specific Daemons, and any army that relied on them - especially the Word Bearers, which could field more than any other force - was completely and utterly screwed, either for fluff reasons or crunch reasons. Keep in mind, pretty much all the Daemons were viable at one point or another in 3rd Edition. CSM didn't even get to keep the Chaos Undivided Furies, for fuck's sake. Chaos also lost Greater Daemons of all stripes, and all we got in exchange were GENERIC DAEMON PACK and GENERIC GREATER DAEMON which, while still useful (many players made GOOD use of them during official tournaments), are nothing but a pale shadow of what used to be available to Chaos Space Marines.

Why did Chaos lose them? Because Gav Thorpe decided that the Daemons needed [[Warhammer 40,000/5th Edition Tactics/Chaos Daemons|their own Codex]] and update. By and large, players refer to most of the new Daemon models that followed this Codex to be fail; the new "one boob only" [[Daemonette]]s are absolutely fail-tastic compared to the lithe and graceful-looking ones of the previous edition. Oh, think that's bad? It happened in Fantasy too, breaking up [[Hordes of Chaos]] into [[Beastmen]], [[Daemon|Daemons]], and [[Warriors of Chaos]]. Only the last was truly competitive, the first being fucked to pieces on release. The crunch is also a mixed bag in the new edition - updated sucktastic Chaos Lords, heavily-diminished setups using the Chaos Mark system, and more.

The end result is that most Chaos players will continue to loathe his very existence and long to drag his soul screaming to the [[Warp]] when his time is finally up. Granted, this may be a mulligan on Thorpe's part: while he's considered a bad codex writer and did fuck up at least a few other codices as well, his involvement in the 'Nids codex in particular was fairly light (plus Robin Cruddance took that opportunity to nerf the shit out of them, so not really Thorpe's fault).

In addition, [[Matt Ward]] later wrote the Iyanden mini-dex which has them win their battles, something Gav apparently cannot do. However, the Supplement also writes Iyanden as being incompetent assholes who didn't even listen to ELDRAD when he stopped by to warn them of their Tyranid-chow future, in a rare example of him not being a dick. It's fair to call it even.

==Where he stands as of 5th Edition Grey Knights Codex==
As a general consensus, most fa/tg/uys tacitly agree that Thorpe should probably stop writing for Black Library and stay the hell away from pointy-ear lore and crunch. Much of [[/tg/]] has decided that [[Matthew Ward]] is infinitely worse than this guy can ever hope to be; Gav hasn't [[Khornate Knights|mutilated the canon]], he didn't FANBOY OVERPOWER anything except Chaos in Warhammer Fantasy, and he's been around long enough without acquiring a track record of horrendous stupid outside of the aforementioned CSM neutering. There ARE some that believe him to be worse than Ward, as his codices are more often than not <s>somewhat playable</s> friggin' powerhorses balancing on the edge of being absolutely OP, whereas Thorpe's books strip the associated army of its flavour.

As a BL writer, his obsession with the space elves seems to be connected with a near-total lack of understanding of how they work, with his Path of the Eldar novels' plots requiring practically everyone on Alaitoc to be a drooling imbecile to work and going on bizarre tangents about how Khaine is supposedly related to Khorne. You'd think someone so insistent on writing a given faction would at least have their facts straight about them and not make them all look like emotionally stunted retards.

He's also one half of the [[Nick Kyme|Kyme]]-Thorpe law which states 'all Dark angel and salamander books must be shit.' And then, of course, there's the whole thing with the End Times in Warhammer Fantasy and the transition to Age of Sigmar...

All that said, some at least believe the man can write half-decently on occasion, [[C.S.Goto|unlike a certain someone]].

[[Category:Games Workshop]]
[[Category:Writers]]
[[category:Black Library]]

<gallery>
Image:Gav_the_genderfluid_thrope.jpg|English is hard for some people
</gallery>

Aaron Dembski-Bowden

2018-07-24T23:12:51Z

2001:67C:2660:425:21B:21FF:FED3:61DC:

[[File:ADB.jpg|250px|right|thumb|The mag size indicates that he only has about 6 shots. The question is, did he already fire four, or six?]]
Aaron is not [[Graham McNeil]].

A writer of 40K awesomeness for the '''[[Black Library]]''' and a reddits/guy/. He's also involved in the fan project [[The Lord Inquisitor]], but he's just one of many. He also [http://aarondembskibowden.wordpress.com has a blog]. Also worked on [[Hunter: The Vigil]].

A younger, even sexier version of [[Dan Abnett]] with a bigger dick and a smaller word count. Member of the Bald Brotherhood of Awesome 40K Writers, also known as the Bald Bards of Steel.

He wrote the short pieces of fiction, [[Dude, Where's my Land Speeder?]], and [[What it's like]].

Aaron Dembski-Bowden is also well-liked by Daemonhunter lore masters, due to his effort in at least making the new [[Grey Knights|Grey Knights lore]] more palatable (given the rage-inducing material he had to work with). Where there was once just Mary Sues after the Glory Days of 3rd Ed, now there is at least a semblance of deeper character to the 5th Ed Grey Knights outside the idiocy written by a certain [[Matt Ward|Spiritual Liege]]. He even ties them back into threads left from [[Ravenor]], so that the influence of [[Dan Abnett|Saint Abnett]] can cleanse them.

He's also pretty well-liked by Ultramarine players for making them cool again.

He also wrote arguably the best speech in the 40k setting in Grimaldus’ to the people of Helsreach. It’s on [[Grimaldus|his page]], go check it out. Seriously, it’ll give you goosebumps.

In fact he's pretty good at making all factions awesome but imperfect. See, for example, his portrayal of Angron. While Angron is indeed a dreaded unstoppable killing machine, he's also a pitiful character who blames others for his problems.

He has also committed himself to rehabilitating the reputation of [[Abaddon the Despoiler]], with all the controversy that implies. Although, he's certainly not above ripping into old Failbaddon either, as evidenced in the ''Night Lords'' trilogy where Talos has nothing but open contempt for him, point blank outlining all the reasons the Despoiler and his Legion suck, [[awesome|''to his face.'']] This is particularly noteworthy when contrasted with Talos' genuine respect for Huron Blackheart's power, authority, and achievements, even while planning on backstabbing the Corsairs. Now, ADB has claimed these are just Talos' views, not his own.

He is quickly approaching [[Dan Abnett]]'s record of number of beloved characters murdered. Seriously. Reading his books, especially the Horus Heresy ones, is like watching him rip your heart out and chew on it while he coos: "Was it good for you too?"

Lest you think we're going soft, though, we should point out that he has received some pretty harsh criticism, particularly for his portrayal of the [[Emprah]] as a raging torrent of incompetence and jackassery the likes of which Earth had not seen since Mussolini made his last public appearance upside down at a petrol station (although, to be fair, said portrayals are from the point of view of traitor legions who have a... [[heresy|less than positive view of the guy]]). Some have even accused him of turning the ''Horus Heresy'' books into a public therapy session for his daddy issues, which, to be fair, is comparable to [[CS Goto]] using his books as a public therapy session for his depression at not having the chops to be a Hollywood screenwriter. He also has a major issue with making the characters he likes look perfect while shitting on other groups; see especially his [[Grey Knights]] book which just becomes a [[Space Wolves]] wank, and ''The First Heretic'', which is utterly fantastic - except the two pages his beloved Night Lords show up and snark all over the Word Bearers.

As a matter of fact, as well as you can speak for a large, completely anonymous community, [[/tg/]] seems to have mostly turned against old Aaron. More and more, he seems to be getting his way at Black Library, especially in the Horus Heresy series, and some well-loved fluff is being rewritten after a very long time unchanged. Many point at ''Master of Mankind,'' the book specifically about the Emprah, which no one at BL was smart enough to realize they shouldn't assign to the guy constantly criticized for how he writes that character. Again, /tg/ is not a single person, and he still has his defenders.

Through his novels you can notice a few things about him:

*He likes Chaotic neutral(ish) characters
*He is hence great at writing Robert E. Howard-styled characters (how is that he hasn't written any Conan pastiche?)
*He enjoys writing in first-point-of-view, although he can work in third-point-of-view
*He mostly portrays Space Marines in his novels, although he has a few works with non-SM as well
*If there is a ship at one of his stories, expect him to make the ship be controlled by a young woman (ship-girls anyone?) He says he tries to balance the testosterone with female mortal characters
*He definitely doesn't get well with the Abrahamic religions, or their priests (we may assume this is the source of the so called "daddy issues")
*He also isn't really sympathetic to order-aligned factions
*He dislikes fat people
*He dislikes Eldar
*He tends to write events through the protagonist's perception and thus has to spend lots of time telling people not to take the opinions of said protagonist (for example, anything said by or about the Emperor in MoM) at face value. To be fair, considering the average [[neckbeard]]'s tendency to erect anything written as holy unalterable canon, it is a necessary reminder
*He seems to have been the one in charge of breaking the classic image of the Emperor, turning him from a grimdark [[Sigmar]] into an emotionless Lex Luthor (This is still [[Grimdark|the approximation of "good"]] in 30k and 40k)
*He considers the 40k franchise fated to be won by Chaos. (It will be funny seeing him getting charged to write some stuff about [[Age of Sigmar]].) Though to be fair, even the Grey Knights Codex indirectly conceded that Chaos will probably be the faction to eventually win, and eventually could mean any time from the next century to billions of years after the collapse of the Imperium

<gallery>
Image:Adb_goes_all_defend_abbadon.jpg|ADB goes all defend abbadon
Image:How_to_ask_adb_a_question.jpg|How to ask ADB a question
Image:Adb_golden_gayhours.jpg|ADB golden gay hours
Image:1513522926225.png|Why he cant deal with criticism
Image:Adb_explaining_why_MoM_is_good.jpg|How to explain why your book is good
Image:Difference_between_adb_and_abnett.png|Difference between him and dan abnett
</gallery>

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Writers]][[category:Black Library]]

Aaron Dembski-Bowden

2018-07-24T23:12:08Z

2001:67C:2660:425:21B:21FF:FED3:61DC: Undo revision 507842 by 2600:1700:19C0:2760:7577:F617:1B1F:FF60 (talk)

[[File:ADB.jpg|250px|right|thumb|The mag size indicates that he only has about 6 shots. The question is, did he already fire four, or six?]]
Aaron is not [[Graham McNeil]].

A writer of 40K awesomeness for the '''[[Black Library]]''' and a redditor. He's also involved in the fan project [[The Lord Inquisitor]], but he's just one of many. He also [http://aarondembskibowden.wordpress.com has a blog]. Also worked on [[Hunter: The Vigil]].

A younger, even sexier version of [[Dan Abnett]] with a bigger dick and a smaller word count. Member of the Bald Brotherhood of Awesome 40K Writers, also known as the Bald Bards of Steel.

He wrote the short pieces of fiction, [[Dude, Where's my Land Speeder?]], and [[What it's like]].

Aaron Dembski-Bowden is also well-liked by Daemonhunter lore masters, due to his effort in at least making the new [[Grey Knights|Grey Knights lore]] more palatable (given the rage-inducing material he had to work with). Where there was once just Mary Sues after the Glory Days of 3rd Ed, now there is at least a semblance of deeper character to the 5th Ed Grey Knights outside the idiocy written by a certain [[Matt Ward|Spiritual Liege]]. He even ties them back into threads left from [[Ravenor]], so that the influence of [[Dan Abnett|Saint Abnett]] can cleanse them.

He's also pretty well-liked by Ultramarine players for making them cool again.

He also wrote arguably the best speech in the 40k setting in Grimaldus’ to the people of Helsreach. It’s on [[Grimaldus|his page]], go check it out. Seriously, it’ll give you goosebumps.

In fact he's pretty good at making all factions awesome but imperfect. See, for example, his portrayal of Angron. While Angron is indeed a dreaded unstoppable killing machine, he's also a pitiful character who blames others for his problems.

He has also committed himself to rehabilitating the reputation of [[Abaddon the Despoiler]], with all the controversy that implies. Although, he's certainly not above ripping into old Failbaddon either, as evidenced in the ''Night Lords'' trilogy where Talos has nothing but open contempt for him, point blank outlining all the reasons the Despoiler and his Legion suck, [[awesome|''to his face.'']] This is particularly noteworthy when contrasted with Talos' genuine respect for Huron Blackheart's power, authority, and achievements, even while planning on backstabbing the Corsairs. Now, ADB has claimed these are just Talos' views, not his own.

He is quickly approaching [[Dan Abnett]]'s record of number of beloved characters murdered. Seriously. Reading his books, especially the Horus Heresy ones, is like watching him rip your heart out and chew on it while he coos: "Was it good for you too?"

Lest you think we're going soft, though, we should point out that he has received some pretty harsh criticism, particularly for his portrayal of the [[Emprah]] as a raging torrent of incompetence and jackassery the likes of which Earth had not seen since Mussolini made his last public appearance upside down at a petrol station (although, to be fair, said portrayals are from the point of view of traitor legions who have a... [[heresy|less than positive view of the guy]]). Some have even accused him of turning the ''Horus Heresy'' books into a public therapy session for his daddy issues, which, to be fair, is comparable to [[CS Goto]] using his books as a public therapy session for his depression at not having the chops to be a Hollywood screenwriter. He also has a major issue with making the characters he likes look perfect while shitting on other groups; see especially his [[Grey Knights]] book which just becomes a [[Space Wolves]] wank, and ''The First Heretic'', which is utterly fantastic - except the two pages his beloved Night Lords show up and snark all over the Word Bearers.

As a matter of fact, as well as you can speak for a large, completely anonymous community, [[/tg/]] seems to have mostly turned against old Aaron. More and more, he seems to be getting his way at Black Library, especially in the Horus Heresy series, and some well-loved fluff is being rewritten after a very long time unchanged. Many point at ''Master of Mankind,'' the book specifically about the Emprah, which no one at BL was smart enough to realize they shouldn't assign to the guy constantly criticized for how he writes that character. Again, /tg/ is not a single person, and he still has his defenders.

Through his novels you can notice a few things about him:

*He likes Chaotic neutral(ish) characters
*He is hence great at writing Robert E. Howard-styled characters (how is that he hasn't written any Conan pastiche?)
*He enjoys writing in first-point-of-view, although he can work in third-point-of-view
*He mostly portrays Space Marines in his novels, although he has a few works with non-SM as well
*If there is a ship at one of his stories, expect him to make the ship be controlled by a young woman (ship-girls anyone?) He says he tries to balance the testosterone with female mortal characters
*He definitely doesn't get well with the Abrahamic religions, or their priests (we may assume this is the source of the so called "daddy issues")
*He also isn't really sympathetic to order-aligned factions
*He dislikes fat people
*He dislikes Eldar
*He tends to write events through the protagonist's perception and thus has to spend lots of time telling people not to take the opinions of said protagonist (for example, anything said by or about the Emperor in MoM) at face value. To be fair, considering the average [[neckbeard]]'s tendency to erect anything written as holy unalterable canon, it is a necessary reminder
*He seems to have been the one in charge of breaking the classic image of the Emperor, turning him from a grimdark [[Sigmar]] into an emotionless Lex Luthor (This is still [[Grimdark|the approximation of "good"]] in 30k and 40k)
*He considers the 40k franchise fated to be won by Chaos. (It will be funny seeing him getting charged to write some stuff about [[Age of Sigmar]].) Though to be fair, even the Grey Knights Codex indirectly conceded that Chaos will probably be the faction to eventually win, and eventually could mean any time from the next century to billions of years after the collapse of the Imperium

<gallery>
Image:Adb_goes_all_defend_abbadon.jpg|ADB goes all defend abbadon
Image:How_to_ask_adb_a_question.jpg|How to ask ADB a question
Image:Adb_golden_gayhours.jpg|ADB golden gay hours
Image:1513522926225.png|Why he cant deal with criticism
Image:Adb_explaining_why_MoM_is_good.jpg|How to explain why your book is good
Image:Difference_between_adb_and_abnett.png|Difference between him and dan abnett
</gallery>

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Writers]][[category:Black Library]]

Aaron Dembski-Bowden

2018-07-24T23:11:40Z

2001:67C:2660:425:21B:21FF:FED3:61DC: Undo revision 507841 by 2600:1700:19C0:2760:7577:F617:1B1F:FF60 (talk)

[[File:ADB.jpg|250px|right|thumb|The mag size indicates that he only has about 6 shots. The question is, did he already fire four, or six?]]
Aaron is not [[Graham McNeil]].

A writer of 40K awesomeness for the '''[[Black Library]]''' and an occasional fa/tg/uy. He's also involved in the fan project [[The Lord Inquisitor]], but he's just one of many. He also [http://aarondembskibowden.wordpress.com has a blog]. Also worked on [[Hunter: The Vigil]].

A younger, even sexier version of [[Dan Abnett]] with a bigger dick and a smaller word count. Member of the Bald Brotherhood of Awesome 40K Writers, also known as the Bald Bards of Steel.

He wrote the short pieces of fiction, [[Dude, Where's my Land Speeder?]], and [[What it's like]].

Aaron Dembski-Bowden is also well-liked by Daemonhunter lore masters, due to his effort in at least making the new [[Grey Knights|Grey Knights lore]] more palatable (given the rage-inducing material he had to work with). Where there was once just Mary Sues after the Glory Days of 3rd Ed, now there is at least a semblance of deeper character to the 5th Ed Grey Knights outside the idiocy written by a certain [[Matt Ward|Spiritual Liege]]. He even ties them back into threads left from [[Ravenor]], so that the influence of [[Dan Abnett|Saint Abnett]] can cleanse them.

He's also pretty well-liked by Ultramarine players for making them cool again.

He also wrote arguably the best speech in the 40k setting in Grimaldus’ to the people of Helsreach. It’s on [[Grimaldus|his page]], go check it out. Seriously, it’ll give you goosebumps.

In fact he's pretty good at making all factions awesome but imperfect. See, for example, his portrayal of Angron. While Angron is indeed a dreaded unstoppable killing machine, he's also a pitiful character who blames others for his problems.

He has also committed himself to rehabilitating the reputation of [[Abaddon the Despoiler]], with all the controversy that implies. Although, he's certainly not above ripping into old Failbaddon either, as evidenced in the ''Night Lords'' trilogy where Talos has nothing but open contempt for him, point blank outlining all the reasons the Despoiler and his Legion suck, [[awesome|''to his face.'']] This is particularly noteworthy when contrasted with Talos' genuine respect for Huron Blackheart's power, authority, and achievements, even while planning on backstabbing the Corsairs. Now, ADB has claimed these are just Talos' views, not his own.

He is quickly approaching [[Dan Abnett]]'s record of number of beloved characters murdered. Seriously. Reading his books, especially the Horus Heresy ones, is like watching him rip your heart out and chew on it while he coos: "Was it good for you too?"

Lest you think we're going soft, though, we should point out that he has received some pretty harsh criticism, particularly for his portrayal of the [[Emprah]] as a raging torrent of incompetence and jackassery the likes of which Earth had not seen since Mussolini made his last public appearance upside down at a petrol station (although, to be fair, said portrayals are from the point of view of traitor legions who have a... [[heresy|less than positive view of the guy]]). Some have even accused him of turning the ''Horus Heresy'' books into a public therapy session for his daddy issues, which, to be fair, is comparable to [[CS Goto]] using his books as a public therapy session for his depression at not having the chops to be a Hollywood screenwriter. He also has a major issue with making the characters he likes look perfect while shitting on other groups; see especially his [[Grey Knights]] book which just becomes a [[Space Wolves]] wank, and ''The First Heretic'', which is utterly fantastic - except the two pages his beloved Night Lords show up and snark all over the Word Bearers.

As a matter of fact, as well as you can speak for a large, completely anonymous community, [[/tg/]] seems to have mostly turned against old Aaron. More and more, he seems to be getting his way at Black Library, especially in the Horus Heresy series, and some well-loved fluff is being rewritten after a very long time unchanged. Many point at ''Master of Mankind,'' the book specifically about the Emprah, which no one at BL was smart enough to realize they shouldn't assign to the guy constantly criticized for how he writes that character. Again, /tg/ is not a single person, and he still has his defenders.

Through his novels you can notice a few things about him:

*He likes Chaotic neutral(ish) characters
*He is hence great at writing Robert E. Howard-styled characters (how is that he hasn't written any Conan pastiche?)
*He enjoys writing in first-point-of-view, although he can work in third-point-of-view
*He mostly portrays Space Marines in his novels, although he has a few works with non-SM as well
*If there is a ship at one of his stories, expect him to make the ship be controlled by a young woman (ship-girls anyone?) He says he tries to balance the testosterone with female mortal characters
*He definitely doesn't get well with the Abrahamic religions, or their priests (we may assume this is the source of the so called "daddy issues")
*He also isn't really sympathetic to order-aligned factions
*He dislikes fat people
*He dislikes Eldar
*He tends to write events through the protagonist's perception and thus has to spend lots of time telling people not to take the opinions of said protagonist (for example, anything said by or about the Emperor in MoM) at face value. To be fair, considering the average [[neckbeard]]'s tendency to erect anything written as holy unalterable canon, it is a necessary reminder
*He seems to have been the one in charge of breaking the classic image of the Emperor, turning him from a grimdark [[Sigmar]] into an emotionless Lex Luthor (This is still [[Grimdark|the approximation of "good"]] in 30k and 40k)
*He considers the 40k franchise fated to be won by Chaos. (It will be funny seeing him getting charged to write some stuff about [[Age of Sigmar]].) Though to be fair, even the Grey Knights Codex indirectly conceded that Chaos will probably be the faction to eventually win, and eventually could mean any time from the next century to billions of years after the collapse of the Imperium

<gallery>
Image:Adb_goes_all_defend_abbadon.jpg|ADB goes all defend abbadon
Image:How_to_ask_adb_a_question.jpg|How to ask ADB a question
Image:Adb_golden_gayhours.jpg|ADB golden gay hours
Image:1513522926225.png|Why he cant deal with criticism
Image:Adb_explaining_why_MoM_is_good.jpg|How to explain why your book is good
Image:Difference_between_adb_and_abnett.png|Difference between him and dan abnett
</gallery>

[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Writers]][[category:Black Library]]