40k Lore: Lore Applied, Characters
8 Minute Read
Mar 4 2011
Advertisement
Hello again everyone, let’s take another look at another way to channel an enjoyment of background into one’s hobby: characters.
The 40k universe is populated by a vast array of colorful and interesting characters, both in-game and out. In a galaxy where there Is Only War the great warriors are important parts of the fabric of that universe; mighty and noble heroes like Calgar and Yarrick are opposed by despicable and ruthless villains like Abaddon and Ghazghkull, and in the background the Eisenhorn, Ravenor, and Gaunt fight their battles far from our tabletops. In the dim past Loken, Argel Tal, and Tarvitz live their separate triumphs and tragedies. As a setting 40k is in many ways defined by the characters that populate it, it is only natural in stamping your army with your own personal tastes to want a few of your own.
Just as creating a background for your army adds a whole new depth to the act of collecting and assembling it, and pitting it against opponents on the table top. Creating a developed character(s) to lead it lends a sense of the cinematic or narrative to clashes on the tabletop. Memorable victories and defeats you have in your games may shape your character’s ongoing story, and each game has a more visceral element (for those that appreciate such a thing) for you.
With this in mind, what follows are some of the concepts that help me when I think about my characters:
In truly creating a character it is important to develop a rich background for him/her/it. Where do they come from? How did they get where they now are? What do they want to achieve? What drives them? What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses? These last two are is particularly important to weigh, 40k is a setting of epic proportions with characters who are larger than life, as dramatic and extraordinary as the greatest of Hollywood heroes (or villains) or ancient Greek heroes!
But even Achilles had his heel. Flaws do not make a character a bad or useless person. What makes the difference between a truly believable character and one who just doesn’t seem real is the notion of fallibility, and even the greatest of histories figures made mistakes. This doesn’t mean you have to be as literal as the proverbial heel, or cut and pasting one of the seven deadlies onto your character, or as inelegant as “Chapter Master so-and-so is a mighty warrior and brilliant commander made out of pure awesomeness, except that he is also really stubborn.”
Often it is unnecessary to identify a flaw from the start, but instead it can be allowed to flow into the characterization. An aggressive warrior’s own aggression my lead them into trouble on occasion, or an impolitic tongue may prevent a would-be war leader from advancement, simple bad luck may plague a character (just like some of our dice…), or great capabilities may lead subtly towards arrogance. If even mighty Achilles could be felled by a well-placed arrow, Sherlock Holmes outwitted, and the Emperor of Mankind deceived, then your character can stumble on occasion.
But even Achilles had his heel. Flaws do not make a character a bad or useless person. What makes the difference between a truly believable character and one who just doesn’t seem real is the notion of fallibility, and even the greatest of histories figures made mistakes. This doesn’t mean you have to be as literal as the proverbial heel, or cut and pasting one of the seven deadlies onto your character, or as inelegant as “Chapter Master so-and-so is a mighty warrior and brilliant commander made out of pure awesomeness, except that he is also really stubborn.”
Often it is unnecessary to identify a flaw from the start, but instead it can be allowed to flow into the characterization. An aggressive warrior’s own aggression my lead them into trouble on occasion, or an impolitic tongue may prevent a would-be war leader from advancement, simple bad luck may plague a character (just like some of our dice…), or great capabilities may lead subtly towards arrogance. If even mighty Achilles could be felled by a well-placed arrow, Sherlock Holmes outwitted, and the Emperor of Mankind deceived, then your character can stumble on occasion.
The final ingredient to a good character is a good name. Now we all know that some names just don’t cut it, Warmaster Ted or Autarch Bill just don’t have the right ring to them. When naming a character it is important to consider where they come from, the culture from which they are drawn will generally have some consistencies within it that may be obvious such the Nordic trend in Fenrisian names (Bjorn, etc.), the Russian influences of Valhallan names (Chenkov, etc.), and the vaguely Arabic inclination to Tallarn names (Al’rahem, etc). They may also be more subtle, such as the “–addon” suffix which seems to be common in Cthonic names (Abaddon, Torgaddon, etc.), the pseudo Celtic “Mk-” prefix of Tanith names (Mkvenner, Mkoll etc.), the tendency towards nicknames among Catachans (“Ironhand,” “Stonetooth,” etc.), or even the seemingly traditional two-part Colchisian names with one complex part and one single syllabic part (Kor Phaeron, Argel Tal, etc.).
Sometimes it is fun to pick a name with an inside meaning, a reference to a film or novel that you particularly enjoy, or that might have exerted some influence on your army. A jaunt through any one of dozens of baby name generators on the internet can provide a long list of names with associated meanings and the cultural background from which it comes. However, as a general rule of thumb if you can imagine James Earl Jones (or that guy who narrates the Dawn of War trailers…) saying your character’s name and not have it seem ridiculous, then you are probably suitably in the zone of the 40k universe.
Sometimes it is fun to pick a name with an inside meaning, a reference to a film or novel that you particularly enjoy, or that might have exerted some influence on your army. A jaunt through any one of dozens of baby name generators on the internet can provide a long list of names with associated meanings and the cultural background from which it comes. However, as a general rule of thumb if you can imagine James Earl Jones (or that guy who narrates the Dawn of War trailers…) saying your character’s name and not have it seem ridiculous, then you are probably suitably in the zone of the 40k universe.
The most important thing to remember, of course, is that you are creating something for yourself, so do something that feels right, something with which you can identify on a personal level. As a case study (and because I like posting my own work on occasion), here is a character background I wrote for the leader of my Inquisition army:
Inquisitor Lord Thaddeus Armitage
Thaddeus Armitage was born on Arkan sometime around 739.M41. His parentage and precise place and date of birth are unknown; he was rounded up along with many other street urchins in one of the periodic urban renewal efforts in Hive Primus, at the time he appeared to be about the age of 7. Standard vocational and ability testing rated the child exceptionally high across all spectrums of intellectual capability, therefore the decision was made that, rather than the usual urban labor retraining most of his fellows were destined for, he would be sent to the Schola Progenium facilities. At the Schola he was allocated for training as a Tactician, and he seemed to be well suited to this role, showing great promise. Given time he might have become a formidable tactical advisor to the leaders of the Emperor’s campaigns.
Fate was to intervene, and a career as a Tactician was not to be. Though an outsider in the Schola due to his non-existent pedigree the child’s natural abilities allowed him to excel in almost all areas of study, far beyond his classmates, an indisputable fact that must have earned its share of resentment (but then, competition has ever been one of the foundations of a Schola education). By his early teens he had already surpassed many fellow progenii years his senior.
As Thaddeus began to enter puberty he first manifested the hints of psychic potential, setting his life irrevocably on a very different path. Thaddeus was however fortunate in that he had come to the attention of Inquisitor van Saar. The veteran Inquisitor, an accomplished psyker himself, was long in the habit of monitoring the Schola from which he had drawn several of his most capable operatives. Inquisitor van Saar had already seen potential in the child due to his performance to date, and his psychic abilities only reinforced the grizzled Inquisitor’s belief that he had stumbled on an excellent potential servant of the Emperor’s most Holy Inquisition. Van Saar took the child into his custody, and personally sponsored his testing and training with the Scholastica Psykana.
As Thaddeus began to enter puberty he first manifested the hints of psychic potential, setting his life irrevocably on a very different path. Thaddeus was however fortunate in that he had come to the attention of Inquisitor van Saar. The veteran Inquisitor, an accomplished psyker himself, was long in the habit of monitoring the Schola from which he had drawn several of his most capable operatives. Inquisitor van Saar had already seen potential in the child due to his performance to date, and his psychic abilities only reinforced the grizzled Inquisitor’s belief that he had stumbled on an excellent potential servant of the Emperor’s most Holy Inquisition. Van Saar took the child into his custody, and personally sponsored his testing and training with the Scholastica Psykana.
Here the youngster again proved to be a virtual prodigy, excelling in nearly every category of his training and in the esoteric studies and disciplines demanded by the Scholastica. It was with surprising rapidity that he was deemed a Sanctioned Psyker, and a capable servant of the Emperor. Immediately upon his Sanctioning, an eager Thaddeus was reclaimed by Inquisitor van Saar for his retinue, beginning his service and further training for a role in the Holy Ordos as part of van Saar’s formidable organization. Here Thaddeus absorbed well the secret knowledge of the Inquisition, as well as those ineffable techniques and modes of thought that set a servant of the Ordos apart from lesser men and women of the Imperium. Soon Thaddeus became van Saar’s Interrogator, and was eventually elevated to his own Rosette, becoming a full Inquisitor of the Ordos Xenos with his Master’s wholehearted endorsement.
Over the centuries since his elevation to Inquisitor (and eventually to Inquisitor Lord in turn) Thaddeus has amassed an extensive decentralized network of agents across multiple sectors of Imperial space. Few of his fellow Inquisitors realize just how extensive this network is, and very few of its members are aware of the scope of the organization to which they belong, or even who they truly serve. In addition to this network, Thaddeus has several other very potent and more direct assets at his disposal, most notably the Inquisitorial strike cruiser Blue Rose (placed at his personal disposal after his significant role in the Stavori sub-sector coup attempt, backed by rogue elements of his own Ordos), and his household troops the Inquisitorial Stormtrooper Company the “Black Rangers.” Perhaps his greatest asset is his own mind; Armitage is an incredibly potent psyker, rating a low Gamma on the Assignment and he is considered a 1st degree psychic practitioner by Scholastica Psykana, his skill and mastery of the psyker’s art rivaled by few others in the Imperium. Even without his considerable abilities as a psyker Armitage is without exaggeration a truly brilliant man, a remarkable polymath possessed of a keen genius level intellect and keenly analytical sensibilities.
Armitage is given to working on the very fringes of Imperial space, preferring to allow his network to alert him to dangers within the body of the Imperium while he concerns himself with hunting out and preempting possible threats from outside. Sometimes he vanishes into wilderness space for months or years at a time, delving deep into dark secrets and shadowed corners of the universe. Over the years of reclusion and isolation his already solitary tendencies have been exaggerated, and though he is fiercely loyal to those he knows, he is slow to trust outsiders, preferring to surround himself with coldly efficient servitor constructs, handpicked personnel, and proven allies while avoiding direct contact with others. Another side effect of this is his unwillingness to trust the most important matters to his agents, while he knows the well groomed agents who run his organization can handle day-to-day matters, he invariably chooses to confront the greatest of threats personally and with overwhelming force.
He has also probed far in matters of proscribed knowledge, his bottomless curiosity and fervent belief that information is the greatest asset pushes him to explore many a dark secret about the Alien, and of techniques and technology he believes might be useful in combating the manifold threats to the Imperium that exist in the universe. His tendency to work in long separation from easy contact with the Imperium has also fostered a pragmatic utilitarianism, and he has taken to employing Xenos assets, such as the ubiquitous mercenary Kroot, to augment his forces when required, and has had dealings with the enigmatic Eldar and other species.
As a potent psyker himself, Armitage is drawn towards the Polypsykana philosophy, believing that he and his fellows represent the true destiny of humanity. However, as he concerns himself so much with matters on the fringes or outside of the Imperium these leanings have rarely been publicized, and he makes little active effort in pursuing the goals and plans of that scattered faction. Instead Armitage is more concerned with his own beliefs and convictions regarding the threats to the Imperium posed by the myriad alien species of the galaxy (both clear and present dangers, and the fallen remnants of vanished races), and in his centuries of service he has gradually come to the conclusion that the annihilation of all of them is not only a task of insurmountably great difficulty, but not necessarily desirable. History has shown that some Xenos can be of benefit to the Imperium, others hold knowledge or technology of value, and still others pose little threat to it if avoided. Armitage has come to believe that those, such as himself, possessed of sufficient knowledge and faith in the God-Emperor can have dealings with the Alien and benefit without corruption, and that he and others like him can guide the Imperium in this matter.
How many of you have created your own characters? What techniques have helped you in characterization? What outside influences have made themselves felt in your characters?
If you have a favorite corner of the 40k lore that would like to see featured, or just a lore question you think would interest the community, let me know, you can even PM me on the forum if you like. New ideas are always welcome.
Author: Just_Me
Advertisement
