MedHammer 40,000

As we limp down the road of history, somewhere in the distance that only the Emperor will see, there will be light and mankind will walk in the sun, but for now there will be only war and misery.

In the Grim darkness of the far future, there is only war” they said solemnly, self-pityingly, naively. 10,000 years ago their was only war. Wars with great heroes, with battles of mighty warriors and fantastic ships, awe-inspiring citadels to defend and even more awesome weapons to destroy it. But above all, in war, 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 in their romantic conflicts, they fought in the name of a destiny that however faintly could still be seen. The Future is here, but there is no war, wars have boundaries, wars have battles, and wars have ends. The remaining dwellers of the Galaxy have no dreams of destiny, of Imperiums, of Great Games, or of Greater Goods. Against the innumerable forces of the devourerors there is no war, there is only endurance.

This was originally where I kept my drafts for MidHammer 40k, but I moved it off the main site so I could instead spin it off into a different project.

The origional premise for MidHammer is that it was a softer version of Grimdark, or Grimlight. Rather than just making 40k universe less grim though, I am instead assuming that 50k is 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 Mellinium have significantly more resources than the already stretched Vanilla 40k So with this endgoal in mind, I am working backwards to change the 40k and 30k events so that.

The Imperium structurally, technologically, militarily, administratively have more resources at their disposal Humanity as a race, has more psychic and spiritual weapons at its disposal rather than these talents being supressed in 40k The leadership of Humanity and The T'au are more psychologically and tempermentally equipped to face the looming threat of the 51st mellinium.

Key Differences

Chaos Very much Divided

Lorgar's school of Chaos Undivided will be significantly less monolithic. Luther and Ahriman's Imperium Undivided will present itself as a robust Ideological Alternative to Lorgar's "Faces of the Divine" Chaos Undivided

additionally perhaps offer more insight into those who follow a particular god. How do the servants of Khorne relate their deity towards the other deities, as well as the Anarchic Malal. Is there a difference between Slaanesh undivided and Slaaneshi cultists?

Given that Malal represents a greater Anti Warp anti chaotic mentality. Khorne's anti pysker position should show more nuance.

Perhaps Radical Khornites see him as a figure who is going to restore balance in Chaos

Multiplicity of religions

The multiplicity of religions offers a lot of opportunities for ideological differences. In MidHammer the Vilka Fenrika, Promethian Cult, and Aurelian Cult of Ultramar all have a presence in the imperium, as well as several more ancient religions.

Showcase divisions of belief and develop Heterodoxy in Aurelian Cult

Each "Spiritual Liege" in the Aurelian Cult is essentially its own Denominiation or Fiqh with sometimes vastly different Theologies .

Xenos ideologies

The Ynnari are just as much a political ideological movement as they are a religious cult. So much so that they have forced the existence of Cegorach and Khaine Followers to organize themselves along similar lines. The Farseers themselves will begin to become a political movement in the same way The Constitutionalistas in the Mexican Civil war, or The "Presbyterians" were in The English Civil war.

The T'au are significantly more radical in MidHammer. But even so there will still be different ideological approaches among the generals.

Greater Emphasis on the Guard

Space marines are rare and distrusted, Sanguinius leads a smaller more agile army in the Blood Crusades against Lorgar, and the space marines of The Segmentarchs aid their fathers in the administration of the segmentums. Every faction has their own guardsmen and navies to use against each other, and serve as the lion's share of their force.

Epochs

This represents a timeline of major events in the MidHammer 40k Universe. Much like medieval understandings of the Pseudo-cyclical world, each epoch will have different powers at their prime, and powers who were the dominant forces in epochs past. Technology armor, and factions will change as civilization advances.

Pre Epochs

age of Old Ones, War in Heaven

Epoch 1(M1-M15) The Age of Eldar

Humanity’s nascent stages, Eldar enjoy peace and eventually create Slaanesh

Epoch 2(M15-M25) The First Age of Man

The Age of Terra and Dark age of Technology

Epoch 3 (M25-M35) The False Age of Chaos

Where the Timeline divulges from Vanilla

Eldar Destroyed, Age of Strife, Great Crusade, The Great Treachery

"False Age" because it was supposed to be Chaos' promised era, but it was denied

Chaos at its strongest during this time,Imperium weathers onslaught of Chaos

Epoch 4 (M35-M45) The Second Age of Eldar/Age of T'au

The Imperium fights on, but is quickly losing ground to The T’au, the Yndari, The Raven, and Now Mars. Ripped down the middle, where even Terra is mere minutes from annihilation, The Primarchs, hold out hope for their father’s recovery and force their enemies to pay dearly for every planet.

Epoch 5 (M45-M53) "The False Age of Man"

Tzeentch is "killed" by the Aurelian, the Chaos gods are brought to heel, humanity is united and the Eldar and their allies are embroiled in the disaster they themselves created. Humanity should be victorious, but this is little more than the calm before the storm. And when the storm comes, it will come fiercely.

Epoch 6 (M53-M60) "The Age of The Consumed"

The Imperium of Man is no more. As the Segmentum Solar falls, The Emperor, now the Warlord once again with his remaining primarchs are making their last stand in Dorn's Segmentum sized Fortress. Just as the Imperium itself was tossed aside to survive this age, humanity must make any and all sacrifices if it hopes to endure. And Humanity has taken on grotesque and bizzare forms to survive this harsh world.

Epoch 6 (M60-M70) The Last War in Heaven

Epoch 7 (M70) The Second Age of Man

This is where The Emperor is trying to reach, this is the "Grimbright end"

WH40k is Epoch 3 and 4, its barely even the End of The Beginning. So while things might be doing "reasonably" well for The Imperium now (its still not great), that's because the actual fights are yet to come. The "Forces of Good" will need every ounce of strength they have to face off against the true threats to the Milky Way.