Setting:Brighthammer 40,000/3rd Edition

It is its own mirror universe style continuity and may contain humorous content.

*Brighthammer 40k* is an optimistic mirror universe of *Warhammer 40k*. In this setting, the incredible GRIMDARKness of Canon 40k is replaced by NOBLEBRIGHTness and instead of war, there is only HIGH ADVENTURE!

The second edition of Brighthammer was developed as a reconstruction of the underlying pulp sci-fi basics that make up Warhammer40k and were largely lost as the editions advanced.

This Edition hopes to polish and clarify the lore of races, factions, and overall timeline that were detailed in the first 2 editions.

## Background

*In the Noble Brightness of the 41st millennium, there is only HIGH ADVENTURE!*

Beginning after the ascension of the Eldar that created the Order God of Passion Slaanesh some 10,000 years ago, the Emperor of Mankind appeared to guide humanity out of a self-imposed dark age. After a great war with the Lords of Order, his most favored son Horus and several of the Emperor's noble princes, or Primarchs, sacrificed their mortal form to become princes of Order within The Warp and save mankind.

Since then the Emperor has ruled for 10,000 years from the Golden Throne on Terra, bringing peace and the lost knowledge of the Golden Age of mankind. There is clearly no better time to be alive.

Now the last vestiges of the Eldar go forth to seek out the secrets of ascension, found too impure to ascend with their brethren 10,000 years ago. Theirs is a desperate race against time, and a struggle to claim their place among their people as lords in the Warp. Opposing them are the dark forces of Eldrad, who leads the Exodite Eldar; those who have turned their back on ascension to seek the power of the ancient and terrible Old Ones sealed away before the rise of mankind. To this day Eldrad's convoluted schemes are a constant source of pain and discontent for all the people of the galaxy.

Across the galaxy the brutal but noble Orks seek the limit of their own strength, pushing themselves to new limits and beyond, but held back by their own brutal culture.

In the distant galactic east the battle cry "For the Lesser Evil!" echoes through the worlds of the eastern galaxy. The dark and chaotic empire called the Tau has formed a brutal fascist empire utilizing mind control, genocide, and cannibalistic Kroot slave soldiers on all the worlds they invade. Despite the amoral and often savage methods used to expand their domain, the Emperor believes they can be stopped by means other than open warfare.

Hidden beneath the surface of countless worlds, the immortal Necrontyr awaken to spread the knowledge of ancient technologies to man. They spread the unheard-of message that prosperity is possible without the Lords of Order, and whisper again the secrets of godhood through technology that almost destroyed mankind once already. And yet wherever they are found, once-dead worlds are renewed and filled with new life.

The Zoanthropes flee into the galaxy followed by a hungry horde of their own creation – the Tyranids. In their pursuit to create the perfect slave race through genetic engineering, they doomed their own galaxy and two others they have fled to before this. The races of the galaxy stand together, united to face the Tyranids and ensure they are not the fourth. But will the Zoanthropes truly turn out to be helpful – or will their inhuman experiments create even more terrible abominations?

In the Warp, the Lords of Order are the god of hope and compassion, Nurgle, who builds civilizations and yet stifles them under his crushing grip, Tzeentch, god of knowledge and magic, who plays trickster, giving hope and taking it away at a whim, Khorne, the noble warrior king, who is the newest form of the former god of the Eldar, the savage Khaine. He is a merciless warrior god, sitting upon his throne of relics, rewarding the strong and crushing the weak. Finally, the newest and for now most powerful of the gods, Slaanesh, god of passion, art, and possessed of a capricious and cruel nature.

Across the Imperium not all is well, however. It is a vast empire, and planets fall out of the sight of the Emperor. Corrupt politicians seek to subvert the Democratic order and ways of the Imperium. Dark tyrants seek to rise up and rebel, oppressing their people brutally. Though the Lords and Princes of Order work with the Emperor to bring civilization to all mankind, the universe remains a strange and beautiful place, filled with HIGH ADVENTURE!

## History

*Main article: Timeline of Brighthammer 40,000*

In the distant past of Brighthammer, mankind stood on the brink of godhood, with technology powerful enough that man could rival even the lords of order, and could move the stars and thought they could change destiny itself. The ancients of the Dark Age of Technology were flawed, however, and the men and women of their number were filled with Hubris. A faction of the ancients, the so-called “Golden Men”, transhumanists all, believed the days of humanity were over – and only those who could step to the next level were worthy of survival. They took the forms of robots, and waged a war to wipe out all of mankind, declaring an "End to Flesh".

One of the great tragedies to define mankind, the “Iron Men”, people who fought against the transhuman Golden Men, eventually proved victorious, but at a great price. Galactic civilization and unity were shattered. Mankind shone like gold no more.

With the breakdown of galactic civilization came the breakdown in technology, and the spread of knowledge. Some worlds – many of the most advanced before the war – were now the most savage, and were slowly forgotten by the galaxy at large. Mankind declined and entered its next era, its silver age, as the Eldar ascended to the Warp and the power of the Lords of Order grew immeasurably.

Eventually, galactic society broke down entirely – and open warfare became almost common. Mankind's true Iron Age came, and many other races took advantage of this, dominating human worlds as masters of their civilizations. Few great empires remained, and those that did were often beholden to the Lords of Order, who are capricious in the execution of their power, and wrathful. What great works of technology remained were often relics, which few understood or could replicate.

Then the Emperor emerged, the guiding light of mankind, who created his knights – the Space Marines, and great fleets of ships, and with them freed mankind from the alien dominion and his godlike powers as a psyker freed people from the tyranny of the Lords of Order. He freed humanity, leading them to a vision of their forgotten past. His sons, the Primarchs, led his armies, and his words changed the face of a million worlds.

The Initiates of Order – devotees of the four great Lords of Order and one of the few elements that had kept the almost totally broken humanity from complete self-destruction - were not pleased with the rise of the Emperor. Many were still devoted to one or all of the four gods, who were jealous of the power the Emperor would usurp, and uncaring of the strife their actions would cause.

The last large-scale wars of mankind, The Great Crusades, were fought between the devotees of the Emperor of Mankind and the Initiates of the Lords of Order. Vast power was flung between the stars and worlds was shattered like broken glass.

In the end, the armies of the Emperor proved victorious – but any material battle would be irrelevant. The Lords of Order would be able to rebuild any army, given time. Like the Emperor, they were immortal, but they lived fully in the warp – the death of every mortal follower in the galaxy would have no effect on them, for they could simply whisper in the minds of anyone, anywhere, and create yet more followers. While he might be able to defeat all four individually even from his throne in the Materium, and even defeat all four together if they came to him in the physical universe, he could not defeat all four united on their home ground.

Though prepared to commit himself to a nigh-eternal war against the Lords of Order, the Emperor's favored son, Horus, found a compromise – a means by which endless war would be prevented. He and his brother Primarchs sacrificed themselves and their human forms, becoming Lords of Order in the warp. There, on the Emperor's behalf, they could directly fight the Lords of Order if need be, countering their influence. The second part of Horus's plan, however, was to allow the worship of the Lords of Order for any who chose to do so – thereby preventing any need for them to fight. Many still worship the Primarchs as the Emperor's Demigods.

The Lords of Order were defeated but spared the inevitable blow to their pride that the admission of defeat would bring. They retained their worshippers, though diminished in number and constrained – and mankind found again the guiding light of the Emperor.

Now, for 10,000 years the Emperor has ruled over mankind, ensuring an endless reign of prosperity and peace. Now, the rifts in the deeply divided factions of mankind are beginning to heal – and light is again showing in the darkest corners of the Imperium. Mankind is rediscovering its lost technologies, and forgotten worlds are being explored yet again. The age of Iron is over. Mankind has entered its Heroic Age, and its heroes will shape the face of the future, for good or ill.

## Races

**C'tan** can occasionally be found feasting on stars. Maybe two dozen still travel through known space in the artificial bodies they were gifted by the ancient Necrontyr, but most of them just want to be left alone.

**Bright Eldar** roam the galaxy in the hopes that they might prove themselves worthy of ascension. Their actions and motives are incomprehensible to outside observers.

**Exodite Eldar** seek to dominate. To this end, they are searching for artifacts of the Great Old Ones and control of their remaining Warp Horrors.

**Humans** are the most widespread race in the galaxy. Most of them live in - or are associated with - the Imperium of Man.

**Imperial Subject Races** are Xeno subject races within the Imperium of Man. While they have freedom of travel and settlement, most of them never leave their homeworld.

**Kroot** hire themselves out as mercenaries.

**Orks** are far less savage than that of their canon counterparts; they are just as likely to spend their time playing Bloodbowl as caving your head in. Most of them roam the galaxy in search of conflict or fun.

**Slaan** were designed by the Great Old Ones as their lieutenants and governors. For untold millennia, their only goal has been to return their masters to life.

**Squats**! They live!

**Tau** are a relatively new species, which has already made a name across its quadrant as ruthless oppressors (the joke is that we just took regular grimdark Tau and ported them into Brighthammer unmodified; just as they look "good-ish" in Warhammer in comparison to everyone else, they look particularly "bad" in Brighthammer).

**Tyranids** want to mindlessly eat the galaxy, just as they have eaten two other galaxies before (it's "bright" because Warhammer Tyranids in the canon have "consumed a thousand galaxies and at least a million civilizations" whereas these 'nids only ate two galaxies. See? Noblebright).

**Zoanthropes** are the original creators of the Tyranids. In their desperate flight from their mad creations, they have traveled between galaxies numerous times, disaster always in their wake.

**Golden Men** The undying robotic remnants of humanity's failed attempt at achieving a technologically based godhood, now driven into hiding and planning their revenge against the "fleshlings".

## Imperial Factions

### The Praetorians

The Praetorians are a proud, conservative, and cultured people, who favor gentile and civilized life above all else.

Despite this, they have always been fierce warriors, with indomitable resolve. No gentleman would run from the field of battle like a coward, and the Praetorians are anything but cowards. It is this resolve alone that saved them from the first attack of their savage neighbors, the Kroot.

The war began over a boundary dispute. The Praetorians colonized a harsh, uninhabited world in Tau space by accident, and are technically living outside the Imperium. The Tau claimed their territory; the Praetorians refused annexation. With the only option for the Tau to go to war with the entire military might of the Imperium, they relaxed their claim, yet found a loophole in the peace treaties that would allow them to take Praetoria anyway.

Their allies, the Kroot, are not an official part of the Tau empire, instead acting as mercenaries or slaves.

With the promise of freedom, if they were victorious, the Tau set up an elaborate plot to allow a fleet of Kroot slaves to break away from the Tau empire, who would then take Praetoria. Upon their victory, the Tau would put down the rebellious Kroot, and claim the planet. The Imperium as a whole could not respond because the Praetoria was in contested space between the Tau and Imperials, meaning that full-scale war would break out if they retaliated. The Praetorians would be on their own.

The initial strike nearly destroyed the Praetorian homeworld, but for the luck of an astropath detecting the entrance of the Kroot fleet.

The Kroot invaded the Praetorian system, and the Praetorian fleet scrambled to respond to the unexpected attack. The endless waves of Kroot ships broke against them like the tide against a rock and bought the time desperately needed to assemble defenders on the ground.

Though they could not hold in space, their fleet was not destroyed, and hid in the asteroid field, to repair and rebuild, holding against future assaults.

On the ground, the armies of the Praetorians marched, meeting the endless tide of savage Kroot in battle, each man cutting down dozens. The bloodletting was fierce, the field of combat ever-changing.

The Praetorians are still on the defense, led by their Gentleman Commander Sir Robin Fitzgerald, a man of tactical mind and Iron will. His fierce determination in the face of the foe has to lead to countless victories for the Praetorians, even against desperate odds.

Only time will tell who will win the war for Praetoria; whether it will be claimed by the savage Kroot or defended successfully by the Praetorians.

### Peacekeeper Corps of Frieden

The world of Frieden was once a paradise planet - the center of culture and civilization for the whole sector, a shining example of Imperial rule.

This, however, was not to last. The governor of the planet rebelled against the Imperium, declaring himself an Autarch and bringing the once bright, peaceful world under his steel-clad boot. Soon, the rebels took over nearly the entire planet - all but the Hive Ferrograd, defended by the brave and noble Colonel Jurten.

His heroism became a tale of legends in the Imperium; one city, and a single regiment of planetary defense forces of a world whose very name meant "peace", forces that nobody seriously expected to ever see real battle - they stood against the entire world, valiantly protecting Ferrograd with their lives against Autarch's treasonous forces. Even when confronted with impossible odds, Colonel Jurten and Frieden 83rd never faltered, holding ground until reinforcements could arrive to help liberate the planet.

When the Imperium finally arrived in force, it was Colonel Jurten who led the way to depose the Autarch, his bravery confirming his earlier reputation even further - and it was he who finally struck the treasonous governor down in a culmination of the assault on his fortified palace. Unfortunately, it was all too late.

The Autarch, in his final moment of spite, launched a massive campaign of nuclear purging from his last positions, prepared specifically for this purpose. As the courageous forces of the Imperial Guard prepared to assault the palace, they could not help but watch as enormous thermonuclear missiles streaked through the air. The Autarch finally overcame with madness, and would rather destroy his entire world than let the Imperium have it. Even though the Imperial Navy shot down many of the missiles, they were too numerous and the attack too sudden to prevent the tragedy. Only the heroic action of Lieutenant Tiberius, who rammed his fighter into the final missile, destroying both with barely split seconds left for him to eject, saved Ferrograd from total obliteration. Others were not so lucky.

Colonel Jurten and the men of Frieden 83rd could only watch in horror as everything that they fought to protect crumbled in thermonuclear fire. The entire biosphere was destroyed, along with countless lives; the once-paradise world now turned into barren, toxic hell, forcing the remaining population underground.

It was then that the Peacekeeper Korps was born; the Colonel overcame with grief, and took an oath that he will not allow such a terrible tragedy to repeat itself ever again. All of his men joined him, as well as many civilians, men, and women with no families or homes left, destroyed by Autarch's insane reign.

Even though Jurten has long since died in battle, taking a monstrous Tyranid Biotitan into the grave along with himself, his ideal lived on. Frieden now has one of the highest recruitment rates in all of Imperium, its people fighting amongst the stars with a relentless determination to ensure that nobody would have to live through the same tragedy as they did.

The troops of Peacekeeper Korps are noble, compassionate, and determined in their quest to ensure peace and end war - the Korps take great care to prevent civilians from being harmed during combat operations and have proven to excel at war relief operations, their crippled world teaching them well about the utmost necessity of caring for their fellow man. They, after all, want to protect others from the tragedies of war, not merely kill the Imperium's enemies.

When it comes to battle, the heroic tales of Colonel Jurten and his soldiers are proven right once again - the regiments originating from his 83rd will always stand against enemy odds, no matter how overwhelming; an unwavering shield protecting the innocents from those who would harm them. The men of Frieden are determined to protect and preserve peace all over the galaxy - no matter how much it costs them, never shall the tragedy of Frieden be repeated.

### The Elysians

The Hive world of Elysia sits in the middle of a busy and highly dangerous sector of space, situated between innumerable small nebulae, asteroid fields, and small, low-gravity worlds.

The world of Elysia itself is small and gravity is light and is known for its towering spires and endless skies where aircars and more traditional aircraft never cease moving. The world is a center of commerce and draws in people from all across the Imperium and beyond.

Despite the richness of their world, or perhaps because of it and the conditions of the systems surrounding it, pirates are a relentless problem in the nearby sectors of space.

Countless nearby sectors of space hide pirate strongholds, both human and Eldar. The ever-changing battlefield makes it nearly impossible to find and destroy these vile fiends, and space travel is always dangerous in the space around Elysia.

Moreover, a dread outcast Tau Imperial named Ning Mu has moved into the surrounding space, capturing people for his vile experiments, creating hideously mutated monsters, and rallying the pirates to new levels of dark depravity.

To combat this threat, the Elysian Sky Corps was born. Equipping their soldiers with the best Carapace armor available and jetpacks, they have become a familiar sight in the skies of a dozen nearby worlds, from the eternal twilight Slaan-infested jungles of Zothique, to the towering spires of their sister metropolises and even into the asteroid fields inside the ever-changing myriad colored nebulae near their home, the Sky Corps are ready with lasgun in hand to defend their world and their people.

The Sky Corps fights as many battles inside dense asteroid fields in space as on the ground, and the terrain they meet is often exotic and dangerous. Nevertheless, they never hesitate in the face of danger, and always bravely fly on, ready for any challenge.

### Klendathans

The Klendathans is a semi-independent group living on the most distant fringes of the Imperium, and unlike many Imperial worlds are not led by a hereditary aristocracy, but by a democratically elected government, whom anyone who has earned their citizenship can vote in. To earn one's citizenship, one must simply serve the government, be it in the military or in a civil service role.

Despite this requirement, the majority of the work was, for a very long time, mere labor, with the majority of applicants doing nothing more severe than spending two years polishing floors.

All of this changed when rebellion suddenly erupted upon their homeworld, and the city of Aries was wiped out.

In the weeks that followed the eruption of rebellion, it became clear that the populace of Aries had been infected with the gene-altering condition caused only by one group in the galaxy - the Zoanthropes.

Even as they cleared their world of the unfortunate mutants in their midst, the Zoanthropes came into their system in massive waves, seeking to steal as many of the Klendathans as possible in a short period of time.

The Klendathans soon learned why; on their tails were the inexhaustible hordes of the Tyranids, the very first contact ever made with those terrible creatures.

Bravely, the Klendathans stood and faced their foes, donning some of the best Carapace and Powered armor seen in the hands of the Imperial Guard anywhere in the Imperium, produced by their sister world, which over the centuries had become a great forgeworld.

Wave after wave of the enemies broke against them, and eventually the Zoanthropes escaped into other sectors of space, taking their ill-gotten genetic information with them. The Tyranids' first fleet was shattered, scattering across the nearby systems and spreading for thousands of lightyears, all the while pursued by the Klendathans.

The war is still waged across their sector of space; they stand resolute in defense against their terrible foe, and no matter how hostile the environment, they will fight, and they will win.

Among the guard, the Klendathans are famed for their extensive use of powered armor, high-quality carapace armor, and light walkers such as sentinels. They are light on combat vehicles, as they are often fighting on terrain ill-suited for heavy tanks, but more than makeup for it with the power of their mobile infantry.

### The Adeptus Sororitas

The Brides of the Emperor: The Adeptus Sororitas.

In a universe filled with the hubris of powerful psykers and laughing tyrant gods, the emperor's secret service is sometimes not enough. Mankind needs protection against the powerful forces of the warp and the lords of Order, and sometimes, darker things.

The Emperor found a solution in a group of women fanatically devoted to the Imperium – the Adeptus Sororitas. Using his own godlike abilities, he infused them with a small part of his own essence – forever binding them to him, but protecting them from the crushing powers of the warp, and in those who are already psykers, awakening great power within them.

The Adeptus Sororitas are all women for the same reason Space Marines are all men. The process of becoming one will only work for a woman – the genetic enhancements and psychic soul-binding process will kill a man. The Adeptus Sororitas's legendary resistance to the powers of psykers and their influence simply do not transfer over to men – nor, indeed, to all women. Of the trillions of women in the Imperium, only a select few can become the Brides of the Emperor.

The secret behind what women can become Sororitas is in training – a kind that can last a lifetime – and above all else, unyielding, unshakable faith in mankind, the Imperium, and the Emperor of Man. The Emperor's Binding brings its great resistance to the powers of psykers because of that faith, but it requires rigid self-discipline, courage, and self-confidence as well as humility. Few can master the mindset necessary – and fewer still can master it sufficiently to become truly able to resist the most powerful psykers.

Those that do master themselves, however, find that they have joined one of the most powerful organizations in the Imperium, responsible for the protection of humanity from the threats of the warp. They are given access to the rarest and most powerful forms of rediscovered powered armor, the latest weapons, and powerful space fleets. Alongside the Space Marines, they were the force that first broke the forces of Order during the Great Crusades, in their earliest form as the Sisters of Silence.

The Sisters of Silence still exist today, as a smaller part of the Adeptus Sororitas.

### Necromunda

A thriving mining world sustained by the harvest of minerals and fossil fuels from the beautiful, multicolored crystal fields that stretch between the industrial hive cities, and which give the planet its name, being a literal pile of fossilized organisms. Notable hives include Primus, the main hive and center of hive politics, and the Temenos Hive, home to numerous universities, libraries, and religious shrines.

### Commissars

Commissars are carefully trained in the arts of war and serve to keep up morale and advise officers in its arts. Because war is relatively rare in Brighthammer 40k, they serve to keep the Guard in good working order. They are always the first in the lead charge in battle and the last in retreat. In times when their units fail, Commissars have been known to take their own lives rather than face the shame of defeat, knowing it was they who were supposed to keep the unit battle ready (think Ibram Gaunt crossed with how the Valhallans view Ciaphas Cain).

### The Imperial Secret Service

His Imperial Majesty's Secret Service

When dark forces rise, the Secret Service is there to cut them out, quietly and stealthily. They are the secret agents of the Emperor, acting on his authority when all peaceful measures fail. When mad psykers arise, they are there to take them out. When corrupt governors starve their people, the Special Agents are ready to remove them. Notably, they are not as extreme as their Warhammer 40k counterparts (the Inquisition) and are mostly focused upon more James Bond-like secret agent action.

* The Imperial Secret Service is split into four departments. Three are approximately the same size, and tasked with defending the Imperium from one type of threat:
	+ The Ordo Malleus, Order of the Hammer, works with Master Horus and his ascended Primarch brethren to pacify destructive emotional and psychic energies (Or Emotional Entities, as they are called.) Many of its mightiest secret agents are recruited from the ranks of the Adeptas Sororitas.
	+ The Ordo Xenos, Order of the Outsider, works to prevent outside threats from threatening all sentient life in the Imperium. Space Marines fight for the chance to join the Black Watch, tasked with fighting outside threats not even the mighty Space Marine chapters can handle.
	+ The Ordo Res Publica, Order of Public Affairs, works to fight corruption and tyranny in the Emperor's name so that his promise to protect the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of all mankind is not betrayed.
	+ Finally, there is one order that reports directly to the Emperor, for they are his eyes and ears- The Ordo Sicarius. The Secret Service makes use of several different specially trained operatives, apart from general Special Agents. These individuals are usually trained at specialized combat schools by the elite of the elite.

* Callidus School is dedicated to infiltration tactics, scouting, and information gathering, and is skilled in innumerable arts of misdirection and disguise.

* Eversor School is for assault, designed to take on even the strongest foes in single combat and receive a number of physical, mental, and cybernetic enhancements. WRRRRRYYYYYY-

* Vindicare School is dedicated to long-range support, and master of weapons, especially sniper-based ones. The noble fallen knight LIVII belonged to this organization.

* Culexus School trains specialized individuals who are capable of uplifting morale to immense levels and increasing the performance and natural healing abilities of their companions, despite lacking psyker capabilities. (The reverse of the Pariah trait) These individuals are incredibly rare but make highly effective team leaders.

All are recruited from existing special forces and receive the Inquisitions' best training in general operations before proceeding on to their permanent combat school, in which they receive training in their specialized area.

After the training at their respective schools, they go to a third phase of training where all of them will attend the same school for team building and developing alongside each other to use each other's strengths to eliminate all the weaknesses they had as individuals. After graduation, they are known as Imperial Special Forces, second only to the Astartes in terms of awesomeness.

### The Catachan

They move as swift as the wind, invisible as a shadow, and strike with ruthless precision. The Catachan Jungle Fighters are the subtle knife of the Imperial Guard, whose strike-and-fade warfare style leaves them feared and respected by friend and foe alike.

Raised from the Deathworld of Catachan, these fearless men and women are absolute masters of all arboreal terrain. A single squad of Catachans and it is rare to see more than that in any campaign, can be dropped behind enemy lines, and use their small-unit tactics and improvisation to let them punch far above their weight.

Nowhere was this more evident than in the legendary operation on Amoz-7: In a single night, a lone squad from the 24th Catachans eradicated an Eldar pirate base and rescued more than 90 civilians, without losing a single civilian and only suffering a broken arm during the fierce fighting.

### The White Ships

Wherever the Emperor's arm reaches, there the White Ships of His Majesty's Secret Service will go. Palaces of the psychic arts, providing budding psykers with a fundamental education or a vessel to carry them to more specialized training in the form of the many offices of the Scholastia Psykana. Such advanced training is on a strict volunteer-only basis, but those who seek out the highest levels may be inducted into the ranks of the Secret Service or some other great agency and brotherhood of heroes. For others, the White Ships provide a haven and a healing rest from the trials of life and service. In sanitariums as well as schools, the abundance of psykers aboard means that the White ships almost invariably take aboard the mentally ill for treatment. Time and telepaths combine to wipe away the stain of almost any trauma, and the wide variety of medications available to the medicae aboard such a vessel makes them fully able to cure almost any malady.

### Schola Progenium

Far more than reading, writing, and arithmetic are taught at the Schola Progenium. These facilities serve as academies for the best and brightest of the Imperium's children. Most are noted for their progressive and exhaustive curriculum, which can lead any graduate directly into a career in any one of a number of high-ranked positions within the Imperium's power structure. Commissars are almost universally educated at these facilities, although some private academies do produce young men and women capable of passing the dreaded examinations of the Commissariat.

## Warp Entities

### The Lords of Order

*Main article: Lords of Order (Brighthammer 40,000)*

The entities called the *Lords of Order* are the four most powerful Warp entities known to exist. Nurgle, father of life, Khorne, brother of war, Tzeentch, aide of wisdom, and Slaanesh, bride of compassion have been allied ever since their conception (and, some argue, their premonitions were allied before even that). As representatives of the four most powerful emotions, they are decidedly *not* "nice" in a mortal sense, but they are considered benevolent even by their detractors.

In the Immaterium, the four lords help calm the unpredictable currents of the Warp and hold stewardship over at least half of all known Warp Entities. Many local gods or pantheons associate with the Lords to secure their position and for protection.

In the Materium, their Initiates of Order hold sway over many worlds. Worship of the Lords is one of the widest-spread religions in the galaxy, second only to the Imperial Truth (which claims to be no religion at all). Their servants are summoned for guidance and during manifold rituals.

Some count the Emperor of Mankind as the fifth Lord of Order, a claim that he himself strongly objects to.

### Lesser Entities

Countless Warp Daemons roam the Immaterium, enticing and repulsing, friendly or fickle. Those daemons not otherwise associated with the Lords of Order (but deemed sufficiently harmless) are grouped under this category.

Among those, Gork and Mork, Isha and Cegorach, all of them Ork and Eldar deities, are the most powerful; wayward souls of the Exodite Eldar are the most common of these "neutral" entities.

### Warp Horrors

*Main article: Warp Horrors (Brighthammer40k)*

Where the Lords of Order are benevolent and other Lesser Entities are at their very worst only passively malicious, a *Warp Horror* is an entity of the Immaterium that actively craves corruption or destruction of mortals.

Those beings range from manifestations of base emotions like greed, lust for conquest, or outright sadism to echoes of the Great Old Ones' corrupt Warp Gods. And, of course, while the Universal Destroyer (the greatest menace of the Warp) has been defeated, its influence lurks behind the veil, ready to assault any psyker that is too full of hubris to consider just *what* they are dealing with.

## Gameplay

This is a setting best adapted for *Dark Heresy* games and for Kill-Team scenarios in regular tabletop 40k, due to its emphasis on adventure and heroics.