Warhammer 40,000 is dark and brutal to a degree that makes the world almost comically funny. The grim future of the 41st millennium is not without reason called “grimdark.” Some users have compiled the worst scenes they have encountered so far.
Pretty much everyone has a skeleton in their closet in Warhammer 40,000. No one is really the “Good Guy,” everyone is just “bad” in their own ways, and to different degrees.
Most of this happens fairly abstractly, but chaos is likely to stand out the most. Chaos Gods mainly feed on negative emotions, and these are easiest to evoke through suffering, torment, and war.
In a few cases, however, truly wicked behavior can be identified – for instance, Erebus, the “First Traitor,” through whom chaos was able to take root in the Imperium. Such scenes occur repeatedly at times.
A user on Reddit has now asked the community about the “creative” malevolence that exists in the world. It’s not just about the Drukhari, who must torture to survive, but about truly diabolical stuff. And, of course, the community responds…
I don’t usually do this, but a little warning upfront: Some of this content is really hardcore. And as a counterbalance, here is a much more pleasant trailer for the latest Warhammer role-playing game:
Epimetheus, or: Why you should not anger Abaddon
In the most liked comment, a user explains what happened to Epimetheus. Epimetheus is one of the founders of the Grey Knights, the order of the Space Marines that is so secret that no mortal is allowed to know about it.
After a battle with a Greater Daemon, Epimetheus was captured by Abaddon, the current Warmaster of Chaos. He was not particularly pleased with Epimetheus’ resistance. His punishment for the Grey Knight was more than just creative:
- Epimetheus’ eyes and mouth were sewn shut with daemon tendons.
- His tongue and hands were cut off.
- The Space Marine had his Carapace ripped out.
- His progenoid gland was removed and given to Fabius Bile, the Primarch of the Death Guard. With the glands new Space Marines are created.
- Finally, a “Blank” was sewn onto Epimetheus’ body, a mutant that suppresses any psychic power in the vicinity.
Even if Epimetheus is rescued, it is unlikely that he will ever be able to fight again. Without the Carapace, he cannot wear power armor like other Space Marines, and whether he will recover from the mutilations is questionable.
In the thread, there are more terrible fates of Space Marines – but at least they were bred for cruelty and war. Warhammer 40,000, however, shows no mercy even to “normal” people…
Gambol, the Living Toy Clown
A more detailed comment provides an excerpt from the horror novel “The Bookkeeper’s Skull” by Justin D. Hill. It tells the story of Gambol, the life-sized clown that was “built” as a toy for a nobleman.
Gambol has frequently been mentioned over the years as an example of cruelty in Warhammer 40,000. He is described as a doll with wooden limbs, a painted red smile, white skin, and colorful hair – just as one imagines a clown.
However, Gambol was once a human and is, in a way, still one. Criminals, heretics, and other unfortunate prisoners are often turned into Servitors, lobotomized automatons that replace real robots in the 41st millennium.
Their brain activity is restricted depending on the purpose and desired suffering of the Servitor, and they are placed into a half-mechanical body. In Gambol’s case, all of his limbs were removed and replaced with wood to make him look like a doll – the flesh parts, however, “continuously fester” and itch.
In the book, the noble child has now grown up and visits Gambol, who “lives” in a dark cupboard, one last time. Only childlike joy and sorrow remain of Gambol’s mind.
“Mmm, Daemon Cookies”
A (possibly) less cruel but significantly more creative malevolence has been devised by a chaos cult full of dark tech heretics. As a user describes, the “Daecrepticum” has developed a method to partially summon demons and then remove their limbs.
These limbs were then supposed to be used to enhance artifacts with chaos power. From one of them, however, the bones were removed to make flour – which was then baked into a kind of host.
On a planet where the entire population received hosts for a holy holiday, these demon cookies were distributed, and in an instant, the inhabitants of the entire world turned into chaos spawn. Not a nice fate…
Warhammer 40,000 has many such stories to tell, even if most of them are not as cruel as those described here. If you want to dive deeper into the world without being traumatized, we have a few starting points for you: There are over 350 books on Warhammer 40,000 – here are the 15 best to get you started
