Editing Advancing the Storyline (section)

==Why they're right==
On the other hand, [[Privateer Press]] has managed to pull off a metaplot in a wargame just fine with [[WARMACHINE]] and [[Hordes]], and there's no reason that it should be any different for 40k. Besides, given the fact that GW is already expanding the scope of the game to include the previously untouchable events of the [[Horus Heresy]], it's perfectly possible for them (and probably quite profitable since it would give them an excuse to make a new line of minis) to start encompassing events further into the future as well as into the past of the setting. (Some can say that they're already doing so now with the increased emphasis on the "[[Time of Ending]]" in the current codices.)

On top of that, it can be argued that the central story of 40k is the story of the Imperium's fall from glory and slow decline, which must by definition end with either the Emperor getting revived or the destruction of the Imperium of Man, and failing to resolve this central storyline is slowly causing the whole story to stagnate as it runs out of events and gaps to fill in. Even the evolving stories that [[your dudes]] were once capable of creating can no longer exist because there is simply nothing left to evolve. Remember how the [[Eye of Terror]] Campaign ended in a victory for Chaos? Instead of allowing its results to change the background (via [[Abbadon]] taking [[Cadia]]), GW instead decided to backpedal in a way that ultimately made the events of the campaign utterly meaningless. How can you have an emergent narrative take place when any sign that it might upset the way things are now results in it being retconned or otherwise made insignificant? 

Another major problem caused by the setting's stagnation is the presence of numerous plotholes which form as a byproduct of GW's insistence in squeezing the shit out of 999.M41. A good example of this is the [[Knights of Blood]] defending [[Baal]] AND attacking the [[Farsight]] Enclaves in the same year despite the fact that they are on opposite sides of the galaxy. The only way to fix that would be to retcon the date, which would create problems of its own depending on where they inserted the new date, or to use warp fuckery since warp travel occasionally has you appear at your destination some time before you left, and because there's always a helpful retcon lying around.

The biggest problem is that Games Workshop loves their status quo. They'll advance the story in bits and pieces but never anything that changes the status quo. In 40K, in Games Workshop's vision:

* The [[Imperium]] will always be stagnant and rotting, but they'll never be destroyed <s>or fractured</s> <b>Dark Imperium</b> (helps that they're a Creator's Pet and, due to all the updates and attention from GW, the bestselling faction(or the other way around; it's hard to say at this point)).
* The [[Eldar]] will always be full of arrogant people, dying and trying to rebuild their empire, but never progress, succeed or go extinct.
* The [[Tau]] will always be a new, expanding empire with hints of [[grimdark]] beneath their benevolent façade, but never get too grimdark or expand to the point where they threaten the Imperium.
* The [[Chaos Space Marines]] will always be trying to overthrow the Imperium, have a grudge against it and be under Abbadon's leadership, but never succeed in a way that puts the Imperium in jeopardy or puts someone besides Abbadon in charge.
* The [[Chaos Daemons]] will always be corrupting things and fighting, but never win a lasting victory or suffer a permanent setback.
* The [[Necrons]] will always be an ancient empire slowly reawakening with each faction following the dictates of their Overlord, with the C'tan either enslaved or in hiding and planning to restore themselves to their former might; but never fully awaken, fully be destroyed, or fully unite, and the C'tan will never be completely enslaved to the Necrons or completely free.
* The [[Orks]] will always be fightan and winnin petty wars, while [[Ghazghkull Thraka]] will always be attempting to gather the greatest waaagh of all time.
* The [[Tyranids]] will always be a major galactic threat answerable only to the [[Hive Mind]] and will never ally with non-Tyranids, but will never win, be wiped out or wipe out or weaken a playable faction.
* The [[Squats|non-]][[Hrud|playable]] [[Slann|factions]] will always get a token mention, but never get time in the limelight or become powerful enough to challenge a major faction.