Nobledark Imperium

The night is dark and full of monsters but the dawn is coming and it will be fucking glorious. The trick is surviving the monsters long enough for the sun to come up.

-Srg. Marcus Albus, Mustavaar 3rd Rifles Regiment, 845.M40

Welcome to Nobledark Imperium: a fan envisioning of the Warhammer 40,000 universe given a buff to competence and common sense. Generally speaking, Nobledark deviates less from Vanilla 40k than the writefagging of Hektor Heresy and Imperium Asunder; we still have the same xenos races, the same Primarchs (at least in name), and the vast majority of the same Space Marine Legions (and later chapters).

A brief summary of the deviations and their results, in chronological(ish) order:

• The Emperor (formerly the Warlord, then the Steward) is a relic from the DaoT instead of a bunch of reincarnated Shamans; Malcador was the one who found him and the closest thing he had to a parent.

• The Primarchs have all died of battle or age; only three of them (Ferrus Manus, Vulkan, and Magnus) lived to see the Steward ascend to the Golden Throne. However, they were all just regular(ish) humans that the Warlord/Steward found to be worthy of the title, and they still had roles/themes approximating their Vanilla selves (with some changes); for example, Manus was born and raised Mechanicus and given a legion of Super Skitarii © , while Russ and his legion were given the experimental Canis Helix variant of Space Marine augmentation.

• No dickwaving contest over Warmaster, and Steward actually tells everyone about Chaos, so no Horus Heresy. Instead the War of the Beast is given more prominence, with many of the primarch's defining moments taking place therein.

• First contact with the Eldar leads to an alliance that raids on the Eye of Terror to rescue Isha in return for all sorts of technological and psyker goodies.

• Chaos Gods are pissed, and turbocharge the War of the Beast with Croneldar (while DEldar join in for shits and giggles), replacing the HH in fucking over the IoM. Battle of Terra, Sangy dies, etc.

• Steward doesn't get permarekt because Eldrad Ex Machina, so no Ecclesiarchy (SoB part of secular Ordo Securitas, fulfills a lot of the same functions). Marries Isha at some point because politics.

• Goge Vandire is seen to be fit for the Golden Throne; when he goes mad, Steward throws a fit and finally becomes Emperor himself.

• Orks, Necrons, Tyranid vanguard (several millennia early) and DEldar are still doing their thing, as well as Croneworlders being a threat. Few (if any) Primarchs left to help put out fires; Primarchless Legions have split into Chapters.

• Tau rise, and, after short indignant protests from both sides, are absorbed into the IoM (save for the conservative Farsight Enclaves).

• Tyranid main fleet begins to make galaxyfall.

• Well, shit.

NOTE: NEW STUFF IS BEING WORKED ON AND WILL USE THIS AS A HUB PAGE CURRENTLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION. THE ORIGINAL PAGE IS HERE.

The Imperium

The Imperium of Man is at war. It has been at war since the day it was created, since an ancient Man of Gold took it upon himself to unite Terra - and the stars beyond - into a single, glorious Imperium. It has not been an easy journey, but nor has it been the debacle it could have been. Perhaps there may even still be hope for the human race.

Unification

In the depths of the Old Night, the one known as Malcador discovered a relic of the Dark Age of Technology: a Man of Gold. Gifted with intellectual, martial and psychic prowess far beyond any human, his kind had devastated humanity in wars long gone, yet this one would restore it to its former glory. The Man of Gold, returning to Terra to find it a war-torn shell of a homeworld, immediately vowed to dedicate his existence to restoring the race he was created to serve. Thus, he became the Warlord, unifying his world through alliance, war, and every flavour of diplomacy between them. Nations united under his banner or were conquered by it, and soon a few figures became famous for their achievements in the fledgling Imperium, whether done in the Warlord's name or their own. These would become his Primarchs.

The years passed, and the Warlord looked to the stars. After the alliance with Mars gave the Imperium the materiel strength to begin reclaiming their former worlds, the Great Crusade began in earnest. Many worlds saw the bright future of the Imperium and greeted the Warlord with open arms, and for those that did not? The Warlord had his Primarchs; who each commanded a legion of elite Space Marines with their own unique brand of warfare. A world with elite armies able to fend off the ferocity of Leman Russ's Vlka Fenryka would be dismantled by the logistical superiority of Roboute Guilliman; one fortified enough to stall the methodical Ultramarines would find themselves with no escape from Mortarion's Death Guard and their horrific plagues; and one with their own arsenal of poisons would see them shrugged off by Ferrus Manus's inhuman Skitarii.

Closer to home, however, there was a problem. The Warlord had originally been designed to serve humanity, not lead it, and it was a curious irony that the greatest leader in human history did not see himself fit for the role. Nevertheless, he was concerned at how an artificial construct such as himself (although precious few other than Malcador knew of this fact) was shown such reverence across the reclaimed worlds; some worlds approaching worship. Thus, he declared that the Golden Throne of Terra, an ancient artifact discovered that may have predated even him, was the centerpiece of the Imperium, and that he would serve as its Steward until a suitable Emperor were to emerge.

An Unlikely Alliance

In the depths of space, as the Imperium rose, the dying embers of the Eldar Empire spotted a raft of order and sanity they could cling to in a galaxy filled with war and Chaos. After a few violent incidents, a more discreet formal first contact was made; the Steward of the Golden Throne and Farseer Eldrad Ulthran both saw one another as a vital stepping stone to the revival of their race's former glory. At the time, the two were both beginning to stall in their ambitions - the remaining Craftworlds were beginning to splinter and rebel from Eldrad's guidance, while the forces of the Great Crusade were facing determined resistance from worlds populated by corrupt abominations instead of mere men.

Although the Steward knew of Chaos, he knew little about it, for he had been shut down and mothballed in an age where the perils of the Warp were only beginning to manifest, and the great psyker Magnus the Red could articulate little of his own innate, instinctive abilities. The Farseer was only too happy to school the Man of Gold on the intricacies of the warp and the power available to those who had the gift for it.