This is a compilation of questions that have been emailed and messaged to me recently. You may remember that I didn’t do a May Q&A because I’d published an Eldar specific Q&A instead (you can read Part One and Part Two here). As there are now lots of questions to catch up on, the June Q&A is in two parts – you can read part one here.

If you want to ask anything, you can post a comment here or get in touch through the contact page (and newsletter subscribers can just reply to any of my emails).

I’ve been posting Q&As for a while now, so if you’ve found this one interesting, you can look back at previous Q&As here.

Iracundus commented on the blog (in response to the interview with Jes Goodwin): I second the call for Exodites. If we can have Kroot wandering the galaxy, we can have Exodites. Maybe even explain their presence away from their worlds as part of some new quest to rescue Isha or resurrect Kurnous?

Exodite worlds get attacked all the time, no need to worry overly much about how they get into fights!

Austin followed up with: I love the lore about exodite knights (bright stallions etc.) travelling through the webway to nearby knight worlds to battle them. Effectively an excuse for giant robot jousting battles!

I’m really interested in seeing the extent of exodite technology and what they get up to. In older lore they had bright stallions and such, in your vision of them do they still have these knights as well as mounting lasers on dinosaurs? I’m thinking getting two wraithknight kits would be a pretty easy way to make a bright stallion!

I would like them to have both knights and dinosaurs / dragons, because why wouldn’t you? However, from what I remember back when some miniatures were made for Epic about twenty years ago, the theme had definitely moved from giant robot to dino-riders so the guidance from GW might be different.

Jon replied to my newsletter: [Jon’s question, which concerns the storyline of Nemiel in my novella The Lion, has been added to my ‘Spoilers‘ page. If you’ve read the book, or don’t mind spoilers, click here. Everyone else – you have been warned!

Veli-Matti contacted me via email: Two questions that seem as cozy to people in any way involved with GW and their products as Culexus Assassin is to Eldar Seer Council…

1) From professional and successful writer’s standpoint (no pressure :D), was it really necessary to simply destroy pretty much everything from the Old World just for the sake of change? And all though I am a fond Tzeentch player myself, I have to simply add that was it the situation really that unrecoverable in the OW that the writers saw no other way, but to simply scrap it and start anew? Forfeiting decades of written and experienced lore for just a fresh start?

2) Jumping to 40k, is there really any lore-wise reason for there to be Primaris Marines? Other than of course pumping up the sales of new miniatures? They seemingly serve a purpose that could have perfectly been performed by some Veteran Units from each existing units, Tactical, Assault, Devastator, Bikes, Terminators, Dreadnoughts… (Last one especially being cryptic, what did they throw the guys who got maimed in training to Dreadnoughts, because them getting maimed was so glorious?) As they are now there to simply overshadow the heroes of legends that fought against every odd for decades and thousands of decades in lore, just to be pushed off now by some silly-named newcomers. And yes, they will be pushed off. Can you really see someone planning on buying Marines going for the lesser variant? Also the names. What’s the idea behind naming them all silly-like when the old ones are rather simply named. Not to mention Admech is apparently starting to number things out of order with their armours. Because that’s something they’d lore-wise do…

Oh, what the heck, those were multiple-part questions already. Let’s throw in an extra one.

3) When did the staff of GW get allergic to anything old? Is it contagious? Can’t it be caught via an e-mail? O_O

Since there has been now a helluwa lot of change just for the change’s sake. And even Tzeentch would agree that it was not as planned. In frank, honest opinion, I’d say many recent things, the destruction of Old World, next to every new “race” they’ve made to AoS, the new Primaris Marines… The lot of them have sounded like just lazy writing. I’m sorry, I’d really like to like these things better, but many of them seem just plain off to me.

1. You can read a bit more of my thoughts on AoS here and in the comments.

In a more direct answer to your question, I think it was necessary to take the drastic step of creating the Age of Sigmar once they were committed to a complete relaunch of Warhammer. I loved the Warhammer World, I worked and wrote with that place for 14 years and have gamed with it for over two decades, so my attachment is probably even greater than most folks that didn’t have Warhammer Loremaster as a job title for several years.

However… Warhammer was sliding. Sixth edition invigorated the sales for a while, but as a rules system it simply became less and less accessible. I think 8th edition was a massive step in the wrong direction, enforcing even bigger units and larger armies as a norm, and from there only a complete reinvention was going to work as a game system that was scaleable.

In terms of the background and imagery I tried, along with the artists, other developers and miniatures designers of the time, to create as unique a Warhammer feel for the visuals as possible. But fundamentally Warhammer was just too close to its roots, in terms of Elves, dwarfs, historical armies and so on. It simply lacked the stand out characteristics of an original IP, so while its strength derived from the familiar and unique blend of influences it left the background open to outright imitation by other creators and manufacturers.

Leaving Warhammer as a viable alternative while AOS was being launched would have split the community even harder and in all likelihood would have killed AOS before it even began. Frankly, GW couldn’t afford to give people the luxury of sticking with the old system and background. The launch, the attitude of GW at the time and their inability to work with the community contributed to a terrible release in terms of taking gamers with them, but I think most people can admit now that two years on AOS has been turned into a success. It’s certainly the most animated I’ve seen the Warhammer community in about a decade or more.

And from a writer and reader’s standpoint there is, albeit slim, still the possibility that we might yet get to create new fiction from The World That Was. The door hasn’t been totally closed.

2. I know nothing more than you do regarding the Primaris Marines. I haven’t been involved in their development. From what I’ve seen, (including some inventive theories on forums!) there seems ample justification from a background point of view and, as an author, there are numerous possibilities for fresh conflict within the space marines chapters that arise from their introduction.

Am I 100% behind the idea? No. I worry when the ‘elite of the elite’ are then no longer that because the ‘elite of the elite of the elite’ come along. For example, I feel the same about Deathwing Knights – the ‘even better than the best’ squad. On the other hand that is a new theme, the worry that they are being usurped, that can be drawn upon in the fiction.

It’s also an area I started to explore in Deliverance Lost, and has been visited with the likes of the Cursed Foundings, so it’s not exactly without precedent.

Francis asked on the blog, in response to Part 2 of my Eldar Q&A: I am reading the Storm Of Silence novel now, and I really like it, just like I enjoyed the Asurman novel, however, I am a bit confused. At what time does it take place?

The inclusion of Maensith suggest 41st millenium, as I got the impression from the Path of the Eldar books that these were set in this period of time, however, the inclusion of a young Ulthwe seer called Eldrad suggests that it is much much earlier, m32 at the latest. Unless ofc this is another farseer called Eldrad with a massive psychic potential.

Also, if this is the “one” Eldrad, “knower of fates” “sun of the Eldar” “scourge of Armageddon” etc etc, I thought he remembered a time before the fall, at least that is what it says in the cosexes, but Jain Zar at one point clearly states that he does not.

Care to clear it all up for me?

The Post-Fall Jain Zar storyline takes place before the Horus Heresy. The Path series is indeed many thousands of years later, but that doesn’t preclude Maensith surviving for that long, particularly if she spends most of her time in the webway and other pocket dimensions away from the normal course of time.

And yes, it is that Eldrad. I’ve always thought of him as a Post-Fall personality, and when I originally had a ranger boasting of him warning the Emperor about Horus it was one of two possibilities – a) The ranger was lying, or misled. b) Eldrad sent his spirit back in time, wise after the event, to warn of Horus’s turn. Unfortunately I wasn’t present at discussions around that matter when Horus Heresy events were discussed with Eldrad in mind. I think that a pretender to the throne of greatness is more interesting as a character.

To which Iracundus countered: There is one problem with the Post-Fall Jain Zar continuity if it is meant to be pre-Heresy. Vect is shown as in charge of Commorragh and makes reference to defeating Shaa-Dom. This dates it to at least late M37 since that is the date given in the Dark Eldar Codex

He claims to have razed Shaa-dom. Doesn’t mean he finished the job properly back then.

Julien asked via the website: I wonder why there isn’t more Warhammer and W40K comic books. I think that the characters have a lot of potential for that. If you have to compare the Phoenix Lords to manga or comic book characters in terms of capability and portrayal who would it be ?

Comics are a subject for licensing, as it isn’t one of GW or Black Library’s core businesses (as in, they don’t have an experienced, professional comics division). That means it’s up to those in the comics biz to carry the torch. Recently that has been Titan Comics so we’ll see how that comes along. I am, as always, open for offers from anyone wanting an experienced writer for a project…

I don’t like to do cross-comparisons between settings because it’s basically totally subjective whether ‘warp powers are stronger than the Force’, for example, or if Thor is really a daemon prince.

Dave contacted me via the website: Hate to write you with a gripe, particularly one I’m sure you probably have little if any sway on, but I have to say I was kinda disappointed with the presentation of your latest book by Black Library. [The content though I’ve every confidence is an absolute delight]

Now BL has changed their book styles tons over the years [my Gaunts Ghosts novels vary in colour, size and design radically through the set] and with some of the latest series, Beast Arises being a good example they’ve gotten better with consistency in a set with a nice uniform presentation.

I’m a little pedantic with my books, and I suppose I put more store than most in a series having a consistent style, so on the shelf they have that nice coherent grouping feel. Shows them off nicely etc, particularly with a theme that translates across them all.

Sadly I really think they missed the mark on your series