MedHammer 40,000

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This article is about something that is considered by the overpowering majority of /tg/ to be fail. Expect huge amounts of derp and rage, punctuated by /tg/ extracting humor from it.

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In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war,” they said solemnly, self-pityingly, naively. 10,000 years ago there were wars. Wars with great heroes, with battles of mighty warriors and fantastic ships, awe-inspiring citadels to defend and even more awesome weapons to destroy them. But there was a sense that war was not the sole state of the galaxy. Indeed, as the armies of Chaos, the servants of the Emperor, and the aliens fought each other, they fought for the sake name of a destiny that, however faintly, could be seen. The future is here. Wars have boundaries, wars have battles and wars have ends. The remaining dwellers of the galaxy have no dreams of Greater Goods.

The premise for MidHammer(/MedHammer) is that it was a softer version of grimdark: grimlight. Rather than just making the 40k universe less grim though, I am instead assuming that 50k will be grimbright. Essentially, I am assuming that the phenomenal Shape of The Nightmare to Come is what will happen to the Warhammer universe, more or less. So rather than WH50k being impossibly bleak, the humans of the 51st millennium will have significantly more resources than those of the stretched vanilla 40k. I'm working backwards to change the 40k and 30k events for that end goal.

The Imperium structurally have more resources at its disposal. Humanity will have more psychic and spiritual weapons at its disposal, rather than those talents being suppressed as in 40k. The leadership of humanity and the T'au will be more psychologically equipped to face the looming threats of the 51st millennium.

Key Differences

Chaos Very Much Divided

Tzeentch claims victory against the Emperor. As Lorgar pleads and works tirelessly to keep the Chaos Undivided movement alive, the Chaos Gods look inward and against each other. Tzeentch and Nurgle both have offered their aid to the Eldar against Slaanesh, and have fostered small but thriving cults which are looking for salvation against Slaanesh. Lorgar's school of Chaos Undivided will be significantly less monolithic. Lorgar and those under his control will live under his theocracy, but the Exclusivites and Ahrimanists will not participate in his movement. Luther and Ahriman's Imperium Undivided present itself as a robust ideological alternative to Lorgar's "Faces of the Divine" Chaos Undivided. The "minor" fifth Chaos God Malal has recently grown greater in power, representing a sort of schizophrenic anti-warp, anti-chaotic mentality.

Multiplicity of religions

The multiplicity of religions offers a lot of opportunities for ideological differences. In MidHammer, the Vlka Fenrika, Promethian Cult, and Aurelian Cult of Ultramar all have a presence in the Imperium, as well as several more ancient religions. Each "Spiritual Liege" in the Aurelian Cult is essentially its own denomination or Fiqh with sometimes vastly different theologies. (Yes, I'm aware that Fiqh is a school of jurisprudence, not theology. Still relevant to the discussion, as each Spiritual Liege often have legal and moral making power as well.)

Xenos ideologies

The Ynnari are just as much a political ideological movement as they are a religious cult. They've forced the followers of Cegorach and Khaine to organize themselves along similar lines. The Farseers themselves will begin to become a political movement in a similar way to how the Constitutionalistas in the Mexican Civil war did, or the "Presbyterians" did in the English Civil War.

The T'au are significantly more radical in MidHammer.

Greater Emphasis on the Guard

Space Marines are rare and distrusted by some. Sanguinius leads a small, agile army in the Blood Crusades against Lorgar. The Space Marines of the Segmentarchs aid in the administration of their Segmentums.

Romanticism

As horrific as the Heresy was, to those of the 41st millennium it will seem like a battle of heroes and a clash of good vs evil.

Divergent Epochs

This represents a timeline of divergent epochs & major events in the MidHammer 40k universe. Each epoch will have different powers at their prime. Technology, armor and factions will change as civilization advances.

Epoch 1 (M25-M35) The False Age of Chaos

When the timeline divulges from that of vanilla 40k. Eldar destroyed, Age of Strife, Great Crusade, The Great Treachery "False Age" because it was supposed to be Chaos' promised era, but that was denied. Chaos was at its strongest during this time, yet the Imperium weathered the onslaught of Chaos.

Epoch 2 (M35-M45) The Second Age of Eldar/Age of T'au

The Imperium fights on, but loses ground to the T’au, the Yndari, the Raven, and the now treacherous Mars. The Primarchs hold out hope for their father’s recovery and force their enemies to pay dearly for every planet taken, with rips forming in the Imperium's middle. At one point Terra will come close to the edge of annihilation.

Epoch 3 (M45-M53) "The False Age of Man"

Tzeentch will supposedly be "killed" by the Aurelian & the Chaos Gods will be brought to heel. Humanity will be united. The Eldar and their allies will be embroiled in the disaster of their own creation. Humanity should be victorious, but this will be little more than the calm before the storm. When the storm comes, it will come fiercely.

Epoch 4 (M53-M60) "The Age of The Consumed"

The Imperium of Man will be no more. As the Segmentum Solar falls, the Emperor, who will then be known as "the Warlord", will with his remaining Primarchs make their last stand in Dorn's so-called "fortress" Segmentum. The Imperium itself was metaphorically tossed aside. The few remaining dregs of humanity that survive this cataclysm will take on grotesque and bizarre forms.

Epoch 5 (M60-M70) The Last War in Heaven

The "Forces of Good" will need every ounce of strength they have to face off against the true threats to the Milky Way.

Xenos in M41

When the 2nd epoch comes to a close, the forces of Chaos will be spent, drained, and outmaneuvered. Lorgar and Luther will struggle to hold their causes together, as they become surrounded by few friends and ever increasing enemies. It'll become clear that the war with Chaos was a fight for who would represent humanity in the upcoming fight. With enemies looking for blood, including the Tau, resurgent Eldar, Orks, Tyranids and Necrons, the Imperium will quickly buckle and lose ground.

The Eldar

The Ynnari were pushed out of the Craftworlds and aggressively hunted by the Night Lords. These exodites hardened as the craftworlds withered. Now as Great Yindaria, the Ynnari are quickly overwhelming the other Eldar ways of life.

The Imperium's greater success against the Forces of Chaos has come at a great cost: not merely the countless lives spent fighting these dark forces, but also the fraying of the relationship and truce the Emperor forged with the Eldar.

There are still some Eldar who view the primitive Mon'Keigh as mostly harmless and as a potential ally against the forces that surround them. However, this attitude has begun to change in the millennia following the Desolation of Lorgar. Rather than decaying into fiefdoms and squabbles as brief as their lifespans, the petty impulses of man have been checked by the Emperor's immortal sons. As the Imperium slowly but surely climbs the uphill battle against the Forces of Chaos, many Eldar have begun to wonder whether it is only a matter of time before the Imperium turns its attention to the Craftworlds.

The Eldar, unable to face the Imperium at full strength for now, still maintain the masquerade of their truce with the Imperium while doing anything and everything short of supporting Chaos to undermine it. However, that façade is quickly crumbling, and as of the 41st millennium it seems increasingly likely that open war between the Eldar and the Imperium will engulf the galaxy.

As the Craftworld Eldar tend to their fraying truce or resort to underhanded tactics, a new generation of Eldar has rallied behind calls for a restoration of the Eldar empire. These Eldar have observed the Imperium's success against the Forces of Chaos as proof not only of the potential for victory against Chaos, but also as proof of the ineffectiveness and failing leadership of the Craftworld Eldar. While in the canonical setting the quest for Ynnead is welcomed by many Craftworlds, here the movement is openly hostile to other Craftworlds and their leadership. The Yndarri are far more fanatical and ruthless than in the standard setting. Nor do they have any love for humanity or even for their fellow Eldar. To them, the Craftworlds stand in the way of a Great Eldar resurgence, and should a few more fall to Slaanesh, they would not be missed.

Craftworlds are always on the lookout for Yndarri assassins and thieves, who kill major leaders and steal relics and soulstones. Under Yvraine, the chosen champion of Ynnead, they hope to overthrow what they view as corrupt, quibbling, and decadent leadership among the Eldar and Drukhari, and replace Craftworld governments with Ynnead-appointed leaders so that all living and dead Eldar can welcome the coming of the Great Death God's return.

NOTE: Lore check

"Yndarri" vs. "Ynnari": The faction in official Warhammer 40K is "Ynnari." "Yndarri" appears to be a variant/typo; if this is an intentional alternate faction, note it as a deliberate divergence. If not, replace all instances with "Ynnari." Also, "Great Death God's return" is unusual phrasing: Ynnead is the Eldar god of the dead whose awakening is sought to counter Slaanesh. Consider rephrasing to "the awakening of Ynnead" or "the return of the god Ynnead" for lore clarity. Additionally, Yvraine is a Ynnari leader — portraying the Ynnari as systematically trying to replace Craftworld governments is a broad escalation from usual lore, where Ynnari mainly seek Ynnead's birth and act against both Chaos and Slaanesh; mark as a setting divergence if intentional.

The Tau

Propaganda poster with the Attillans, a key Auxillary of the Tau'Va.

Calling themselves an Imperium after their former masters, the T'au Va were originally part of a subject state of the Imperium called the "Cerulean Socii." That changed when the Eldar, concerned about the Imperium's growing strength and success, saw an opportunity to create an ally that could counteract the Imperium without further altering the Warp. Thus the Ethereal caste was created through advanced genetic modification as a way to indirectly control the T'au Va.

Taking advantage of a Black Crusade that distracted the Imperium, the T'au Va revolted against their overlords and slaughtered their Imperial overseers and Kroot intermediaries. Before the Imperium could mount a proper counteroffensive, the Eldar "chose to ally" with the T'au Va and announced that the newly free T'au Va were under their protection. Unwilling to fight a war with the Eldar Craftworlds in the middle of a Chaos insurgency, the Imperium begrudgingly agreed to a ceasefire.

Despite the T'au Empire's small size, it is meticulously organized: the four former T'au nations were transformed into castes. The T'au possess highly advanced weapons but rely on their Eldar "allies" for aid in travelling vast distances.

The T'au have seen many different Ethereals who unite them — from the original, now-expunged Ethereals, to an era of Water Caste government, to the rise of Commander Puretide, and the increasing dominance of the Fire Caste. Under O'shasanuk'la the T'au have carved huge swaths of the Ultima Segmentum and are now circling the borders of Ultramar.

NOTE: Lore check — several points need attention

"T'au Va" and "T'au" usage: Officially the race is "Tau" (with or without apostrophes depending on edition), and their ideology is the "Greater Good" (Tau'va). "T'au Va" as a formal name is a fan variant; choose one standard.

The ethereals were not literally "created" by the Eldar in mainstream lore; the origins of Ethereals are mysterious and subject to in-universe explanation. Claiming Eldar-engineered Ethereals is a significant divergence. Mark as deliberate if intended.

"Cerulean Socii" and "O'shasanuk'la" appear to be homebrew names not found in standard sources; if this is a custom setting, flag as original material.

Commander Puretide is a known character (Aun'va? Commander Puretide is less common — "Aun'Va" is the Ethereal), and the timeline of caste dominance :(Water, Fire) and the phrase "rise of Commander Puretide" may not line up with established lore.

"Expunged Ethereals"—if you mean the purge of early Ethereals, clarify context; "Expunged" is not a canonical term widely used.

Stories

I'm working on this still, just much more slowly.

• The Golden Honey: Angron and Lotarra brace for a figure's return.
• What Use is the Present? MedHammer Holiday Special. Immortal Ollanius Pius meets with humanity's grim future in the 52nd millennium.
• Tau Communique regarding the use of Auxillaries A brief account of how the Atilla should be used.

Artwork

I'm posting most of my art work to my Deviant Art profile.

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