This is a compilation of questions that have been emailed and messaged to me recently.

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.

Will emailed to ask: I wondered if the Dark Angels founding Chapter shares its unique STC’s like the Darkshroud and the Nephilim with their Successors? Or are those Chapters generally more Codex compliant?

I would think that there might be some of the other DA-specific gear for the Successors but of a limited quantity. In particular, the Darkshrouds are stored within the Rock and derived from ancient Terran tech related to the proximity of the Tower of Angels to the warpstorm that destroyed Caliban. There is a very finite number of them. I figure they might lend them to Successors, or have sent out a few to the oldest Successors, but that’s it.

Bear in mind that although a few Unforgiven Chapters have been named, the Dark Angels have extremely stable geneseed and the Adeptus Terra, not knowing any better, are likely to have used it for quite a few Chapters of the last ten thousand years. There could easily be upward of seventy or even more Dark Angels successors at large at any given time…

Samuel emailed via the website: So my first question is about the Phoenix Lord novels. Are there plans to write a story for all the main Lords *cough* Baharroth *cough* ? He is the surviving member of a mid 20s hobby purge that I’m in the process of reversing and I feel a strange vested interest in.

On a similar-ish note, is there going to be a novel or story that follows up with what happened to the Phoenix Lords after the battle with the 1,000 sons at the fracture of Biel-Tan? I have to admit that I wasn’t sure how the interaction between them and the Ynnari was going to go and I’m still interested in seeing the nitty gritty of it all.

As a cheeky aside, considering that you are one of the true Eldar lore masters, do you know which craft worlds Baharroth resides? I ask because I’m interested in making my Aeldari force very swooping hawk heavy and would love to theme it in that direction.

My last question is one that I don’t really know how to phrase, but I shall have a go. To what extent are some of the one off named chapters/warbands/craftworlds fleshed out behind the scenes? So as an example, I have an Oracles of Change Tzeentch chaos marine warband. They are to some extent the remnants of the space marine chapter the Lectors of Ixis turned during the abyssal crusades.

If I wanted to do something mad and recreate (with full future historical accuracy) this event using the chapter, are the icons and colour schemes decided upon for these one off chapters? Or are they pretty much just named and sent off into the world.

At present, the plan is for six novels, each titled after one of the Phoenix Lords from the 2nd Edition Codex: Eldar. So that will include Baharroth. The Cry of the Wind (as far as I know) has no Craftworld, as like all the Phoenix Lords he spends his immortal life moving from one war to another as fate and the Will of Asuryan dictate.

Most of the colour schemes you see, for Space marine Chapters, warbands, minor craftworlds are just launching points for fans to create their own ideas. So if you don’t see anything specific in a Codex, I’d just go for it and have fun. Over time the developers or an author might pick up one of these dangling threads, which might invalidate what you’ve come up with yourself, but it’s a marginal risk. The great thing about Chaos warbands (and Tzeentch in particular!) is that they are always changing, reforming, getting new Champions etc.

Matthew is another emailer that wanted more details on the forthcoming Phoenix Lords books: As a result of the 1st two Phoenix lords books I now have both painted. As he gets a brief mention in Jain Zar, do I need to get a Maugan Ra figure? Is he the 3rd book?

It hasn’t been agreed who is next and I would like to avoid the format becoming formulaic with Asurmen and company finding a new recruit and then that eldar being the focus of the next book. It was never my intent that the post-Fall backstory formed too much of a book-to-book narrative, it just worked well with Jain Zar. But I’d go ahead and paint Maugan Ra anyway.

Dmitry asked on Facebook: Gav a question regarding the Phoenix Lords, while it’s true that the majority came to be not long after the fall of the Eldar (relatively speaking) I was curious if it is still possible for a new Phoenix Lord to arise, or a new temple to come into existence. Or is even the concept of innovation so far removed from the Eldar psyche now, the scene where Aradryan picks apart Korlandril work as adding nothing to the perception of the myth comes into play. The Eldar are still the most advanced species in the galaxy but does that mean the concept of reaching beyond their current capacity has completely stagnated?

I think that the theme of the eldar being a spent force, a declining civilisation, requires that there is no hope but oblivion. As Elves in Space ™ they cannot possess the means to recreate the glories of old, but must stand by and watch ‘lesser’ races inevitably consume their former domains.

Regarding the actual lore, I think it would be impossible for there to be a new Phoenix Lord simply because in my personal version of the history they would all have to be pre-Fall survivors. When Asurmen created and disseminated the Path to the Craftworlds it was to create a new society out of the old, but an eldar raised wholly within the Path system wouldn’t possess the capacity to become a Phoenix Lord. This may not be borne out by the details of some of the lesser-known Phoenix Lords, but for the moment it’s what I’m going with.

Anthony emailed via the website: Quick Necromunda question. Do you have to declare all the territories your gang works first before then rolling for all their income? Or can you do it on a more individual basis (i.e. declare the territory, roll for its income, then choose whether or not to work another)?

Here’s the rule in question: “Each ganger can generate income from one territory. The player chooses the territories he wishes to collect income from and adds up the total amount generated.”

Just curious how the studio played this one back in the day? Having to declare all the territories first means you can’t cheese the income brackets, but I’m not sure that’s the intention of the rule.

Although it was a long time ago, as I recall you would nominate the territories you were going to work and then generate income all at once. Think of it as the gang leader sending out the others to different parts of their patch to ‘work’ the area between encounters.

Clint emailed with this: I know I’m a bit late to the party, but I’ve just recently read the Last Chancers books for the first time and I quite enjoyed them; Schaeffer has become one of my favorite 40K characters. Are we ever going to find out the ultimate fate of the Colonel and his crew? I was hoping if/when Games Workshop expands on the new 8th edition Armageddon lore we might get some new info.

I also noticed a “False Hope” on the galaxy map in the 8th edition rulebook. The same planet where the Last Chancers took on the god-plant in 13th Legion?

Funny you should mention the Last Chancers and Shadow Wars: Armageddon. I am currently noodling ideas to pitch a return of the Last Chancers to Black Library and I’ve been thinking along similar lines…

As for False Hope, I like to think that it is the same world but couldn’t be 100% certain without asking the developers. I dimly recall that I slipped it onto an earlier incarnation of the Imperium map and maybe they got it from there.

JohnMichael asked via Facebook: Might you have a hand in the upcoming role playing game Warhammer 40k Wrath and Glory?

I haven’t been approached by the developers, but given their track record I’m sure they’ve got things well in hand!

tmw tweeted: Gav, if I may ask. Would you categorize Sanguinius’ return to 40k as nigh impossible, or impossible is nothing? Asking for a friend…

Impossible unless the writers wanted to entirely invalidate his sacrifice. The only one, in fact, I would say, except for the Big H himself.

David pointed out a continuity issue via email: I have recently read Azrael and just finished Eye of Ezekiel. I’m slightly confused with both of their positions timeline-wise. In Azrael, Ezekiel is already Chief Librarian and is the one whom inducts Azrael into the path of becoming Supreme Grand Master. However in Eye of Ezekiel, at the end, it states that Grand Master Azrael has been notified of his elevation to Chief Librarian.

There is a conflict regarding when Azrael becomes Chapter Master, which I believe stems from a mistake in the Forge World book ‘Siege of Vraks’. This put Azrael in command of the Dark Angels earlier than he should have been. I went with the previous timeline because it better suited the narrative to have Ezekiel in place already as the Merlin to Azrael’s Arthur. It doesn’t have the same vibe if Azrael has been in command longer than his mystical advisor…

Of course, both might be true! Or neither. That’s what 40K is like (non-canon continuity – a dream for some, a nightmare for others!).

On Facebook, Joe had two very different questions. Firstly, a broad one: First question is a two parter, which setting do you prefer writing for out of 40k and AoS? And is there a difference in the creativity you are allowed for each one?

I haven’t written enough Age of Sigmar yet to form an opinion either way in that regard. In terms of the creativity, I think that Age of Sigmar could very well be an enormous sandpit for the authors to play in and I need to unshackle my thoughts into something bigger than anything for old Warhammer or even 40K. It used to be that 40K was the broader canvas with whole galaxy to explore compared to a single world of Warhammer, but AoS has leap-frogged the Imperium and has eight whole Mortal Realms to play with…

The other, pretty specific: Second question, is on track with my previous questions in regard to the Dark Angels as I enjoy reading your take on them. It is in regards to the Deathwing, Company Masters and Terminator armour colour. I have always been of the interpretation that the Deathwing were a company only, one with a specific purpose, but a company none the less. While they make up part of the ‘Inner Circle’, being the outer layer of it is you will, the two aren’t one in the same, again my interpretation and there are others who feel different (as is the way with most 40k lore). And this leads me on to Company Masters, it is established that they are all, with the exception of the Grand Master of the Ravenwing, formerly members of the Deathwing. A hot topic of discussion in many Dark Angels groups and forums I am in is what colour Terminator armour would a Company Master wear? Would it be the Bone of the Deathwing, as is their company tradition, or the Green of the Chapter? Personally I side with Green as they are no longer serving within the Deathwing company but I would be interested to read your view on it. ..and about how you define the Deathwing and Inner Circle if you have the time.

Like a lot of the Dark Angels lore there has been a lot of changes and conflicts on their organisation and colour scheme(s) over the years and I just go with what works in my head. This has been firmed up by the work I did with Angels of Caliban, the idea that the Legion operated on several levels, as the legion of the Imperium, the successors to the Six Hosts of the Hexagrammaton and the descendent of The Order.

In the present day Chapter this is seen as a (mostly) Codex-compliant Chapter with ten companies, the only real deviation being one of the ‘Assault’ companies nominated as the 2nd company in the form of the Ravenwing.

Behind this lies the spiritual organisation of the Unforgiven, arranged on far more Masonic lines with ever-decreasing circles of the Truth. Rank in one does not confer rank in the other and vice versa. It is therefore possible for a Master to be promoted to the equivalent captain rank of a Company without having been through the Deathwing, but that would be very rare. It’s hard to keep the bulk of the Chapter from being in the wrong place at the wrong time if their commanding officers aren’t in on the Big Secret. So, most Masters will be ex-Deathwing. In colour terms that mans incorporating the bone colour either in their robes, heraldry ort their warplate. How that is used along with other heraldic symbols may well indicate how far toward the Inner Circle they have progressed, code for other members of the hidden hierarchy.

To answer the specific example, I would opt for a Master with green livery, with either robes or a shoulder pad in ivory to denote the previous service within the Deathwing.

David dropped me a message on Facebook: I recently became inspired to write some fiction set in the 40k-verse (specifically Necromunda) Obviously, there are licensing and copyright issues. I assume there was a pitch process for your books, but do you have any suggestions to get this (when near complete) to see if it this could be published under the franchise branding? As I recall Black Library had a submissions poc somewhere…. thanks in advance.

For previously unpublished authors the best way to get something to Black Library is to wait on the next submissions window, which will be advertised and I will also share when it is announced. I have no idea what they have planned for Necromunda, if anything – perhaps just reprints of old titles. The submissions window will almost certainly be based on something broader, either 40K or Age of Sigmar. The last was simply entitled ‘The Imperium of Man’. I have some (slightly out of date) advice here.

Ramon didn’t so much have a question as a comment about my David Gemmell Legends award victory: Congratulations sir, sorry I missed your victory dance. Had no doubts that Warbeast would win.

Thanks to the joys of technology you can enjoy my bad dancing for many years to come…

:-O

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