Going beyond the galaxy

[Emperorsmercy]

I have been wondering: Can any races travel beyond our own galxy? Can the Eldar? Can the Imperium?

There are no real cases of it happening (Other than the Tyranids.), and I was wondering whether this is to do with either the distance, the lack of technoldegy or some kind of Danger.

Help would be appreciated!

[Just_Me]

Well, the first thing that come to mind for the Imperium is that the Emperor is here; not only would you be leaving behind the most important political and religious symbol for your entire species, but you wold be traveling well beyond the range of the Astronomicon, so you could/would get lost with no hope of rescue.

I think the biggest deterrent for most races though is that inter-galactic space is a whole lot of nothing, there isn't any good reason to venture out there, especially with enough crap already going down in their own backyards. Remember that FTL travel in 40k is fast, but not instantaneous; traveling withing the galaxy can take months or years, traveling between them would take centuries, so unless you have a really good reason for it (Tyranids), the question becomes why bother?

[Melissia]

The only races that can in reasonable time are the Necrons and Tyranids. Everyone else has to use sub-lightspeed travel.

The warp outside of the milky way galaxy is supremely calm, in a way which is BAD, like the calm winds and still seawaters of the Atlantic or Pacific doldrums (the Pacific in particular earned its name from them).

[Rafe_131]

The only races that can in reasonable time are the Necrons and Tyranids. Everyone else has to use sub-lightspeed travel.

I wouldn't say that these races do it in "reasonable time". I'm not sure of the Necrons, but the fluff for the 'nids points out that they simply drift. But, when you've been adrift for thousands upon thousands of years, you can cover a few miles....

[Subject Keyword]

I wouldn't say that these races do it in "reasonable time". I'm not sure of the Necrons, but the fluff for the 'nids points out that they simply drift.

Necrons can pretty much instantaneously disappear and reappear where ever they want. It's like apparating, but on a galactic scale. Their ship drives are also not warp-driven, so the Imperium has a particularly difficult time dealing with flash Necron Raids for test subjects.

They could be everywhere. There is nothing to indicate that our galaxy was at all geographically important in their campaign against the Old Ones.

Woah...
Nerd moment...

[Nabterayl]

I don't think we know enough to say that necron ships can essentially apparate. Their inertialess drives don't provide teleportation-like capability in BFG, though we know those are the same drives they engage for interstellar travel. We know that necron ships can dematerialize, just like necron soldiers that Phase Out, but it's not clear from any source I know of where they go after dematerializing, or how long it takes them to get there, or if the dematerialization is even a form of travel at all.

[Melissia]

right, Necron drives are inertialess, not teleportation based. meaning they can infinitely accelerate an decelerate.

[Nabterayl]

... right, but unless we're in the GFFA, that makes necrons really, really slow.

Being able to infinitely accelerate, by itself, only gets you to lightspeed, which is not nearly fast enough for "interstellar" travel for narrative purposes, even in a universe where it can take years to get from one system to another. Either the inertialess drive does something fancier than infinite acceleration, the 40K universe (like the GFFA) declares that something crazy happens when you hit lightspeed, necrons have some other method of FTL (such as some form of teleportation), or else they're one of the slowest interstellar races in the game, and nobody has realized it yet because their ships are so hard to track and identify.

[person person]

...so unless you have a really good reason for it (Tyranids), the question becomes why bother?

Agreed

[Melissia]

Being able to infinitely accelerate, by itself, only gets you to lightspeed

Except that it doesn't. The necrontyr intertialess drive goes faster than the speed of light. As fast as they want it to.



Scientists today have made light particles go faster and slower. Necrons are way ahead of us.