Some factions need better names...

[Anggul]

On the main topic....I've always seen the naming as being Imperium centric.

It's doubtful the Dark Eldar call themselves such, ditto the Traitor Legions probably don't even consider themselves to be Traitors.

Well they are definitively traitors, they turned on what once their side. Certainly a lot of them feel justified in turning on the Emperor and their brothers, but that doesn't mean they don't think they're traitors.

Being a traitor isn't automatically a bad thing, you could have turned against something bad.

[Katharon]

Ahem.

As I said in the very first post, I have been reading/suffering through 'Mechanicum', which is entirely about the Martian Civil War, where Kelbor-Hal, the Fabricator-General allies with Horus and seizes the planet for Chaos.

And in this novel, it explicitly states that Kelbor-Hal's faction names themselves the Dark Mechanicus. The name comes from the improbably-named Traitor Mechanicum Adept Urtzi Malevolus. You can tell I'm not making it up because WHAT KIND OF A STUPID F**KING NAME IS 'URTZI MALEVOLUS'?!! That's worse than a 'Star Wars' name!

Ahem.

Anyway, at no stage are they called the Pneumachina, which is a shame, because that's a great name that makes sense. No, they name themselves 'The Dark Mechanicus'. It explicitly states that they do this stupid, stupid thing. In the novel. That I just read. So if another books says different, that doesn't make the other book right; what it means is that the writers/editors didn't talk beforehand, and that's okay with me, because f**k canon, just tell good stories.

Any road, it's good to know this 'Dark Mechanicum' nonsense is a case of [url=http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DependingOnTheWriter]Depending On The Writer.[/url]

So that's something at least.

And it's hardly a mania. I just f**king hate bad speculative fiction. By which I mean



On an un/related topic, I reached the end of 'Mechanicum' today. If I hadn't been listening to it in the car on the way to work, I'd consider it life I'm never getting back. I feel like the idiot who sees heroin, thinks 'Well, you never know until you try...' and promptly puts himself into a coma. I knew it was a really bad idea, but thought 'no, don't judge, you bloody love the AdMech, and everyone says 'Mechanicum' is one of the good ones, and you love the Horus Heresy, so really how bad can it be? Just give it a go or you'll always wonder.' and f**k me was that a stupid thought to have had. I actually feel stupider for having gotten through it. Does anyone know: are there any Black Library books that don't feature epic battles? The fate of worlds in the balance? Because everyone deserves a second chance, but if they're all full of sh!te like that, I really am never bothering with a single non-artwork BL publication again.

Dude, chill.

Second, if you re-read my post you'll see that I left a certain sentence there that covered your entire rant just now:

Or at least that is what this particular branch of the schismatic Adeptus Mechanicus called itself.

Thirdly, I give more credence to the latest novel than older novels. Writers at BL are generally only fed enough information about their subject matter and told to write their stories from that, with little or no creativity on their own part for actual input to lore than you'd imagine. Only veteran and *trusted* authors are given free reign in some categories (see: Dan Abnett and Graham McNeill).

This carries over to my Fourth point, which is that Graham McNeill is the writer of both Mechanicum and Angel Exterminatus, which would mean that in his own eyes, this new break away group of the Mechanicus has, after the initial revolt and rising on Mars, decided to further separate itself even further from the Adeptus Mechanicus and chosen a more unique name to represent themselves, ie Pneumachina. Since it's the same author, I'm willing to take the later (newer) novel at it's [wink wink, poke poke] face value and see that McNeill is showing us what they are now called.

If it bothers you so much, why not email Graham McNeill and see if he sends you an answer? He's a pretty cool guy, so he just might give you an upfront answer.

[Thornblood]

So, I forked out for the limited edition sm codex (raven guard flavoured) which is beautiful, but oh so overpriced. Chalk that up as one of my many regrets in life. Anyway it comes with a successor chapter book, which also includes some new successor chapters, and the worst colour schemes I've ever seen in my life. Here are the worst named successors;

10. Angel brigade- lumping these all together in one overused stereotype; we understand that space marines are the Angels of death! We have blood Angels, and dark Angels and all their successors. Now we have to deal with the following; Angel Guard, (basically dark angel colour scheme), Angels eradicant (ok, so I do like the word eradicant- nice blend of destroy and churchy 'cant'), Angels of damnation (aforementioned issue with dark mechanicum), Angels of fire (I bet they have a lot off and weapons), Angels of fury (original world water colour scheme, but the blue is replaced with red), Angels of iron, Angels of penance, Angels of repentance (actual dark angel robed dude as logo, also paint there helmets there company colour. Looks retarded. Maybe that's what they are doing repentance over) Angels of retribution, Angels of vigilance (same scheme as the Angels of penance), Angels penitent (are we telling a story? Repentance, penitence, penitent), Angels porphyr, Angels redeemed (happy ending for penitent), Angels resplendent.
who needs to use there imagininations? Not GW!

9.brotherhood of a thousand. Yep they thousand sons.

8. Crimson things- 8 different crimson things- castellans, fists,guard, Paladins, scions, shades, talons, and they don't mention the Sabres.

7. Dark brotherhood, dark crusaders, dark Eagles (Crusaders and Eagles have the same colour scheme- dark green. Not quite dark Angels green, but dark green), dark hands, dark hunters, dark sons.

6. The Emperors Nouns! (Hands, Hawks, scythes, shields, spears, storm, swords, warbringers, wolves and that's excluding the scythes of the emperor. Who exist in the same universe as the emperors scythes. Hmmm)

5.names that include the word marine. We know your marines. It's ok. Marines August, errant, exemplar, malevolent (double fail malevolent), and the metamarines. And omega marines. Novamarines.

4. Night Watch. Not sure if they named after a Russian film or the police in Ankh Morpork.

3. White Templars. Just sound like the Klu Klux Klan. If using beaky armour, mustn't look up.

2. Death Knights/spectres (I'll allow Eagles). As opposed to those knights who hit things and they come to life (quiet aekold halbrass), or the living spectres. I cant remember the last Dickens novel I read and someone saw a spectre, and people were like 'was it dead'. Sprectre is enough. Death strike you sound retarded, but you do make a little sense. I've got my eye on you though.

1. Rainbow Warriors. I think today is LGBT pride day, and in their honouri give the 1. Spot to the rainbow warriors. Named after a Native American environmentalist legend, combined with the fact that there is nothing grimdark about rainbows (pretty colours, gay pride, Jewish/Christian Gods promise not to flood the earth again etc etc). The rainbow warriors are the most out of place people in the Grimdark setting.


Special mention; space sharks. Lucky escape with the rebranded charcarodons, although accipiters are suggesting we may yet have a new wave of marines just named after the Latin names of animals. Also bit tempted to rant about other colour nouns, but mostly they work.

[Fueldrop]

*muttering*
I still say that the Marauding Squirrels are the best chapter...
*Goes off to sulk in a corner as the Emperors Angels take most original name prize.*

[Alaric]

I now want to model a Sam Vimes inquisitor. And mebbe Fred and Nobby acolytes. A Detrius Thanax engine (I think thays what they are called) and a Carrot crusader. Damn you.