The world of Warhammer 40,000 does not always follow logic, but relies on completely absurd exaggerations. Many aspiring fans who are just diving into the lore often ask why inefficient or seemingly unnecessary methods are not simply replaced or problems solved more efficiently. Experienced fans reply: because that is exactly what is not supposed to happen.
In Warhammer, everything is bigger, more dangerous, and more absurd. Every race is deeply xenophobic, everyone hates everyone, and there is war everywhere. Billions of beings die daily in the universe. Space Marines, the “poster boys” of the universe, have two hearts and three lungs.
Must the world have that? No. Do such things make Warhammer cool? Definitely!
However, newcomers to the world often read about various circumstances in Warhammer 40,000 and wonder why a seemingly much better solution is not used for problems. And almost always they receive pushback from veterans.
The discussion now involves hundreds of users on Reddit who are sure: the world of Warhammer could be different, but it doesn’t want to be.
In Warhammer 40,000, there is a whole cult that specializes in killing and sees it as a religious service:
“Why don’t they just…?”
In the subreddit dedicated to the lore of Warhammer 40,000, posts regularly appear questioning certain actions and methods. Usually, it concerns the Imperium of Man with its absurd dimensions and extreme views.
Care for an example? In a further thread, a user asks why the Imperium sacrifices so many lives to refuel engines. In some stories, it is described how thousands of workers bringing fuel to the engines are burned alive.
The blunt answer from the community: the technology is lacking, and even with it, human lives would be cheaper. But often the explanations are much simpler, at least according to some users. The creator of the current thread, for instance, explains:
“X is quite stupid, why doesn’t the Imperium just do Y?” – Because the Imperium is very stupid, that’s the point.
“B seems unnecessary, why doesn’t the Imperium just do A?” – Because the Imperium is very evil, that’s the point.
“C is quite illogical, why didn’t the Emperor just do D?” – Because he was a crazy megalomaniac, that’s either the point or not, depending on which author you ask.
In the comments, another user agrees: “If someone is looking for a logical, mentally sound, clean, and consistent answer to anything in 40K, they have somehow misunderstood the setting, I think.” Warhammer is simply exactly that: exaggerated in every form.
“Nobody reads the books”
Another comment goes a bit deeper. There, the user writes: People who make such suggestions haven’t engaged enough with the world and haven’t read the books. They have picked up something that views an event disconnected from everything else, in concentrated form. This creates a false image.
Just recently, a fan had a brilliant idea to stop the greatest danger in the galaxy, only to be informed by veterans that this had been tried before. And the outcome then was devastating.
Much of what seems logical to us today simply doesn’t work in Warhammer. One reason, for example, is that before the events in Warhammer 40,000, some tragedies occurred – including the “dark age of technology.”
Since then, artificial intelligences and everything related to them have been strictly forbidden. Much technical knowledge has been lost or is punishable. Automatons were completely replaced by forcibly lobotomized cyborgs.
Warhammer is not nice – and it shouldn’t be
The fans are sure that much in the world of Warhammer simply happens because it is a grand narrative. And as things are currently, they are just cool: “40K is a drama-driven universe.”
Logical decisions simply wouldn’t make a good story, it is said. At the same time, many people have in their minds that they must choose a side. They have a good-versus-evil mindset. “Their” faction is ultimately the “good guys.” At the same time, that’s exactly the core of the original game: to choose a faction and celebrate it.
In Warhammer, however, there are no “good guys.” Everyone is evil in some way, in varying degrees, depending on whom you ask and which stories you know. If someone tries philanthropy, they quickly meet an… predictable fate – for Warhammer standards.
However, there is indeed one race in Warhammer 40,000 that is dedicated to serving a higher good
and trying to build a better world. This race, however, is still very young, and even here it is already apparent that they are not the good guys
: A race in Warhammer 40,000 actually wants peace with everyone, but uses questionable methods
