#codex: necrons

[magistralucis]

Conflict in Literature + Necron Books

(Read more for titles and notes, watch out for spoilers)

Man vs. Nature - Devourer This is not the only necron vs. tyranid lit, but I thought the cover illustrated the conflict best. Out of all the horribad things in WH40K, the tyranids tend to be presented as the closest faction to a natural disaster; certainly in Devourer they do not logically justify their presence, nor can they be reasoned with, not by the Blood Angels or Anrakyr or the Tomb World he's trying to wake. Not mindless, but an amoral happenstance, like nature itself.

Man vs. Society - The Lords of Borsis Necron court intrigue played straight, with a sprinkle of delusion on the side. Since this story revolves entirely around the schemings and plottings of necron(tyr) society, with changes in dynastic hierarchy as the final objective, it fits best here.

Man vs. Technology - Indomitus This is an awkward placement, since Indomitus was not, well... a compelling story, with most of its tropes not being explored beyond their first introduction. But it is the most bare-bones way of describing this book's premise. Humans battling a robotic malignancy, albeit with a Bolivian Army Ending, which doesn't conclude the plot in either direction 😞

Man vs. Man - The Twice-Dead King: Ruin Ruin is an exceptionally deep novel, and fits every conflict listed here. It was the hardest one to place, because it's not so much choosing the one that goes best, rather crossing off every other conflict not central to the story. Both gods and the absence-of-gods are a problem in Ruin, as well as nature and technology, but they're not at the heart of Oltyx's problem. Society could be a big one, since Oltyx is an exile - but he’s not trying to antagonize his society throughout Ruin, he's trying to work with it, or at least save it from doom. Self and reality both count, but fit better with other stories in the Nate Crowley corpus. So man vs. man it is. His most important clashes are all with individuals ('man') - Djoseras, Unnas, Hemiun, arguably Yenekh in reserve - and by the end, his crownworld is overrun by the Imperium, who will become the antagonists for the second part of his tale. Man vs. 'Man', with a capital M.

Man vs. Self - The Twice-Dead King: Reign Again, this could have gone elsewhere. In man vs. reality, perhaps, or the god-related ones. But the self is where the conflict of Reign truly lies, since Oltyx's greatest obstacle is himself, and it is his inability to accept that which brings his dynasty close to destruction. Thank goodness he got over that one.

Man vs. Reality - Severed The emotional and philosophical core of this novella relies on it. Zahndrekh's inability to see the world as it is brings about the whole plot, and is at the centre of all of Obyron's musings. Interestingly, reality does not win at the end, at least not what necrons envision reality to be: a place of cold hard facts, with no room for emotion. Zahndrekh would rather dream the impossible dream, which might be the healthier way to deal with their situation.

Man vs. God - The Infinite and the Divine 🚨 𝔻𝕆 ℕ𝕆𝕋 𝔹𝔼 𝔻𝔼ℂ𝔼𝕀𝕍𝔼𝔻 🚨

Man vs. No God - Crusade: Pariah Nexus Not a novel, not 100% about necrons, not even out yet as of now (Dec 2023). This is an inherently problematic conflict for WH40K, because gods are very real and very present in that universe... here I'm only thinking about the necron perspective, and the civil war unfolding in their lore. They banded together in a shared purpose eons ago, destroying the Old Ones who oppressed them, and sundering the star gods who subjected them to biotransference. Now they are as antigod as they could be, and they did not retain their bonds, they have once again turned on each other. So it goes.

Man vs. Author - Codex: Necrons (10th Ed.) (Collector's Ed.) James Workshop knows what they did. 😑

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Necrons Codex Cover Art by Jaime Martinez

[ghostinthegallery]

I find it wild that so far the necrons are the only codex to get updated cover art from ninth edition (which is bs, btw, that the covers are the same). But it also makes me nervous. What are we, space marines? GW doesn't treat us well! Is something bad coming? Is this an omen? Are they trying to trick us? Or did someone literally send the wrong file to the printers?

[skunts-own-truth]

Quick little thoughts on the current discourse:

Listen, if you're saying the brief inclusion of female custodes to a side-panel of a codex is a game company purposely alienating the "dedicated fans" or whatever, I don't think you're all that dedicated. What impact does female custodes have on the wider setting? None. What impact does it have on the custodes as a faction? Zero. It probably won't even change what miniatures GW is pumping out. So, an incredibly small detail like that changed is... bad? For some reason?

I've been into warhammer since 2010, man, and I've been through so much "this decision will be what ends 40k" talks. You remember when people hated Dan Abnett's guts for introducing the Perpetual storyline into the Horus Heresy? Or when people were screeching in disgust because pre-Great Crusade Fulgrim had wives? Or gosh, I remember when Necrons first got their major update and people were saying it completely ruined the lore, and selling their armies on Ebay out of spite.

If you're this mad about there being some big golden she/hers out there, such a small, small thing, then maybe y'all didn't really like Warhammer all that much to begin with? I dunno about you, but I will continue playing my fun tabletop games, and reading my good tie-in fiction, without getting mad at nothing. GW does best when it ignores its fans, and I sure as hell hope its ignoring you right now, silly billy.

[wh40kartwork]

Codex: Necrons Cover Art

by Jaime Martinez

(via Warhammer Art)

[detritiviolet]

oh yes please!

That looks like a pretty solid list, though I will confess I don't play necrons and haven't read their codex. I will note also that I haven't seen anyone use the Ghost Arks ever so idk how good those are.

i've never played a single game of Warhammer ever and have no idea how to lmao

i just picked things based off how i'd try and play them and also what looks cool

[fromcommorragh]

And just like that, GW did a stealth reveal of how the necrontyr looked like in a faction trailer for the new necron codex.

And I feel very vindicated because I called it that the necrontyr had humongous chins back in 4th edition.

[cursed-40k-thoughts]

this probably isnt the best place to ask this but i didnt even understand a lot of the stuff on this blog and i was still laughing my ass off...i played the rogue trader game and loved it but idk where else to start with warhammer stuff...any recommendations?

Books! The best way to ease into the 40k spiderweb is books. Find the stuff you like, learn about it, and branch out from there.

The two easiest book series to recommend for newcomers are Gaunt's Ghosts by Dan Abnett and Ciaphas Cain by Sandy Mitchell. Both are a ground level look at the Imperial Guard (human military) that interact with different parts of the setting. The former series is more traditionally "grimdark", the latter is a bit lighter and funnier. Plus, they're human-centric, which some people find helpful for initial reading.

The Infinite and The Divine by Robert Rath is probably the single best standalone 40k novel that's come out in recent years. Both a good Necron (alien space robot) novel and a good introductory 40k book. Highly recommend, especially if you like the idea of immortal robots having an eons-long quarrel.

You should also be able to find Codexes (rulebooks) for the different factions online. The rules don't matter, but the first half of every codex contains lore overviews and character information for the faction it covers. Don't pay for them, they're overpriced nonsense, just dig around for the PDFs.

[banshee-king]

Okay I know some people are already getting tired of the female Custodes drama, but I have another point to add.

In the 5th Ed Necrons codex women were never mentioned. The codex mentions lords, princes, and the Silent King, but never any ladies, princesses, or queens. This is pretty egregious as because the Necrontyr are aliens it’s not certain how they reproduced, or if females existed in any aspect of their society at all. Even the Deceiver refers to the other C’Tan as its brothers. It wouldn’t be until a couple years later in Imperial Armour Volume 12 that the idea of a Phaerakh, a female Phaeron, was added.

This is rather similar to Custodes. Previous codices mention men and “sons of nobility”, but it never states that women can’t become Custodes. Of course female Custodes never appeared in novels either. However in 5th Ed, Necrons got 7 new named characters with models and all were male. The first Necrons that appeared in novels were all male. Every named Necron without a model was either outright male, or its not stated. Technically speaking, Imperial Armour retcons the Necron codex by adding women.

Yet female Necrons didn’t ruin the faction. Necrons weren’t solely defined as their men vs the feminine Eldar. Necrons didn’t “go woke, go broke” because of Xun’bakyr the Mother of Oblivion. The villainy or grimdarkness of the faction wasn’t reduced because they now had women in positions of power. The same is true for Custodes.

[sirlazz]

Codex: Necrons 11th edition leak ???

My mood for the last few days had been kinda grim due to me worrying about AI; all the layoffs in the game industry and all that, and decided fuck it, i'm going to turn all that sad energy into being productive for once. GLORY TO THE IMMORTAL EMPIRE !

[cultofthewyrm]

Warhammer 40k - Necrons Codex Cover Art by Jaime Martinez

[drunkenskunk]

So, I'm laying in bed, waiting for the painkillers to kick in, with an ice pack strapped to my knee, and I'm letting my mind wander. And I'm thinking about Warhammer 40k, because of course I am, this is what I do when I'm bored and in pain.

While laying here, I got to thinking: when were the first "official" conflicts between humanity and the all the other Xenos factions? So I'm just delirious enough to be like "let's figure this shit out."

And I'm already needing to start off with a mulligan, because the Orks, the Eldar, and the daemons of Chaos have always been ubiquitous in the Warhammer galaxy ever since humanity first walked upright, so trying to pin down "first contact conflict" is a mugs game. It would all be pre-Dark Age of Technology. Who the fuck knows for sure.

So who else is there: in terms of "major" Xenos factions (that is: armies with a codex), we got the Tyranids, the Tau, the Necrons, and the Leagues of Votann. Which is less than I hoped, but about what I expected for James "SPESS MEHREEN" Workshep.

So: the Tyranids. The First Tyrannic War was in 745.M41. However: if we really want to be specific and pedantic (and I do), then the first time the Imperium ran into the Tyranids was "sometime" around 500.M41 when genestealers were first encountered on the moons of Ymgarl. Then again, I'm not actually sure we should count that, considering that the Imperium wouldn't even make that connection themselves until much later.

Next: the Tau. Technically first "contact" was in 789.M35, when an AdMech explorator ship, Land's Vision, found the planet that would eventually be named Tau, and recorded a primitive species that had mastered simple tools and fire. But because that planet became inaccessible due to a warp storm, and the records got lost in the chaos of the Age of Apostasy, we (again) probably shouldn't count that. First real conflict was the Damocles Crusade, between 742.M41 and 745.M41... and it only ended because the Tyranids showed up.

Moving on: the Necrons. Technically, they've been "around" even longer than the Eldar. But they've mostly all been fucking asleep in their tomb worlds, except for a select few who woke up early (looking at you Trazyn). So, really, if we're ignoring shit like Szarekh the Silent King returning from his self imposed exile in response to the Tyranids showing up (are we noticing a pattern here?), first "official" conflict with the Imperium was the Sanctuary 101 massacre in 897.M41.

And finally: the Leagues of Votann. And, again: they've been "around" for who knows how long. It's heavily implied that their generation ships left Earth for the galactic core before even the Dark Age of Technology. But they mostly kept to themselves and didn't venture outside the holds in the galactic core until Cadia exploded and the Cicatrix Maledictum cut the galaxy in half, forcing them to leave. Finally, an "alien" faction being introduced to the setting that has nothing to do with the fucking Tyranids.

And, y'know... looking at all that? That really does kinda put in perspective why everything seems to have gone to shit in 40k, doesn't it?

Between the end of the Horus Heresy in 014.M31 and the start of the Damocles Crusade in 742.M41, the only things the Imperium of Man had to really worry about were Orks, Eldar, daemons, and renegades/traitors. Like, none of that is great (and a lot of it is self inflicted), but that kind of setup seems manageable. The Eldar never show up in huge numbers, and daemons require incredibly specific circumstances to even manifest outside The Warp. Hell, even the Orks for most of that time are basically just a nuisance, since a warboss on the scale of Urlakk Urg wouldn't be seen till Ghazgkull. Really, the most dangerous thing the Imperium had to worry about during that stretch of time was regular humans rebelling (rightfully so) in the face of the Imperium being a nightmarishly oppressive theocratic fascist state.

That's 10,000 years or so that you could almost call relatively stable, where the vast majority of issues were problems that it inflicted on itself. Business as usual.

AND THEN

In the span of just over 250 years, there's several wars with the Tau, the Tyranids show up over and over again, the Necrons start waking up, and... then the Leagues of Votann are also here now lol

Something, something, decades where nothing happens, and weeks where decades happen, etc.

[magistralucis]

Actually I'm not done thinking about this post, thank you @ghostinthegallery for the inspiration. 👀 Motives-wise, Lysikor is the most obscure character in TDK; it's not clear what he wants, other than to steal things and watch Rome burn, and something about him makes the people around him act in unusual ways. It shows most obviously in Oltyx, but also with Unnas and Mentep and all the canopteks he keeps on stealing. I mean, there is no way he ought to have gotten away with the disrespect he showed his world, you know?

Oltyx claims Unnas only spared Lysikor because Unnas was more reasonable at the time (Ruin, Chapter 4). But necron lives are expendable, and many have been killed for doing much less than Lysikor. This dude is ridiculously good at surviving. He repeatedly taps into Oltyx's mind without consent, and those intrusions hardly ever have consequences; he almost fucks up the beginnings of Oltyx's kingship entirely by mentioning The Regicide; of course, he also gets off scot-free at the very end, heavily armed and unafflicted. Why?

My theory is that it has to do with reality. Ithakas is cursed because they tore a hole in reality. In the 9th Edition Codex (pg 11), it's stated that 'the C'tan were bound to reality itself, and so could never be destroyed, only splintered into stunted echoes of their former might' - but they did destroy Llandu'gor, and the Flayer-urge spread from the aftermath, and the Twice-Dead King is about Oltyx's journey to heal what was broken. He has to deny, repair, or move past at least three realities to achieve this ending, and each one is represented by a different character:

Djoseras, for the past reality of Ithakas, when the glory of the dynasty belonged to the stones and not its people. This reality is no longer tenable by the end of Ruin, and Djoseras is killed defending it to the last man.

Mentep, for the present reality of Oltyx, in that he helped cause Ithakas's affliction millions of years ago. Throughout TDK he's trying to atone for what he's done, but the problem with what he's done is that he's made Oltyx paranoid and tyrannical, and his good intentions cannot outmatch the other's violence.

Yenekh (and Zultanekh), for the future reality of the Flayed Ones, the transformative one eventually claimed and shaped by Valgûl's heka. Yenekh gives Oltyx the hope to regrow from the ashes, and Zultanekh validates their new world-order by bearing witness to it. Only after this point are they all somebody, instead of vermin, nobodies, or Nobody (Οὖτις).

Where Lysikor comes in, I think, is the fourth reality: metafiction, the realm outside Oltyx, the Bone Kingdom, or necrons as a concept. Literally the fourth wall. Lysikor knows that he's in a book! His idiosyncrasies make so much more sense if you interpret it as his playing around with tropes. The way he signposts Oltyx's actions with literary devices (e.g. 'the bait's been taken' re: the warboss, describing Oltyx's explanation for Yenekh's exile as a 'story', etc.). How he always manages to steal the exact McGuffin they need. The plan he had to kill Oltyx at the figurative eleventh hour. Of course nothing ever touches him! He literally exists above the narrative!

That too is why he can make nonsense of the order of the world. Lysikor already has his own sense of order, if anything he makes everybody else answer to it. His complete dismissal of heka, Oltyx's and others. The insistence that he be called Duke, which is not an Ithakan title, which he somehow gets people to respect. His cavalier attitude towards stealing as well as giving back. My favourite fourth-wall moment has to be when he answers a question literally nobody asked, the one about the Ithakan serapteks: the last we saw of them was Oltyx witnessing their slow deaths in Chapter 19 of Ruin. So what became of them? Yoinked by Lysikor, of course. 👍

But that's the genius of it. Ithakas has only seven serapteks to spare, and they are the most powerful canopteks there are: 'symbols of dynastic might, reserved for only the most apocalyptic conflicts', as Chapter 11 of Ruin puts it. In a significant sense they are the dynasty. When they pass into Lysikor's possession, it means that he becomes a world unto himself! I think that's why he's as secure with Oltyx as he is: they are supreme leaders, capable of world-shaping heka, just that Lysikor is the only one who knows it for most of TDK. He's forbidden from commanding people, he lives with the figurative animals, as canopteks are ranked slightly above C'tan shards and below all necrons. But what fantastic canopteks! What an army!

Canopteks are often simulacra of beasts pre-biotransference. Lysikor is a simulacrum too, not of beasts but a Synaptic Disintegrator, pointed not at people but into the firmament. He's the perfect deathmark, textually and metatextually, sneakiness and treachery and hyperspace nowhere played dastardly straight. I bet he wasn't even that disappointed Oltyx got away. He analysed Oltyx's character arc carefully and liked what he saw, and it wasn't until Oltyx started bending reality himself that Lysikor was bested. Even that won't be for long. The Twice-Dead King better watch out, eat your heart out, Oltyx, here comes the Twice-Troped Duke 🔫🤪

[khornedog]

In progress, but I like this progress.

He's not even the first oldhammer Slaver I've found in a parts lot. It's a distinctive model, with the dress. Never found a complete one yet, so I'm just making him fabulous.

I'm told Banner Nobs are out of the codex, so this guy's just going to tag along and taunt any Necrons we find.

[crysdrawsthings]

WH40k friends, I call upon you in time of need.

I need your suggestions on books, stories, codexes for someone interested in necrons and Knight Houses, preferably not requiring a very deep lore understanding to get into.

I know that for necrons Infinite and Divine is usually noted to be a great book, but the only other I have heard about is the Twice Dead King series?

And for Knights I am a bit lost beyond pointing to some of recent codexes, maybe.

[roach40khobby]

Updates from the PLAGUE FORGE of Thraxus

1. History of House Kraxis nearing completion

2. History for the Blighted Reapers is in progress

3. Mostly touch up work on the knights of House Kraxis, all major paints are finished

4. Death Guard Warband on hold until we have a good understanding on what is in store for their codex.

5. The personal Land Raider for Lord Thraxus is in progress...however, it will take some time due to my insane and complex plan for it

News from the Adeptus Mechanics

Forge World Radia Prime is preparing to reactivate the primary forges and start production.

News from Necron...(Data corruption)...moon outpost

((Error....Error....Error...Start emergency resurrection protocols...Biological lifeforms detected on moon surface...))