Warhammer 40k Fluff Thread VII: There's a Codex Entry for That

[Squark]

Welcome to the Seventh Warhammer 40k fluff thread. Why do we have a fluff thread and a tabletop thread? Well, because, to put it bluntly, arguments about fluff can take up a lot of space. And that makes it hard for people to get critiques on their list. So, if you need to find out what's a good color scheme for your custom Dark Angels Successor chapter, Argue the morality of the setting yet again (Oh, how we wish you wouldn't), or even share fluff you've written for your army, here's the place.

Just remember, in the Grim Darkness of the future, there is only pointless bickering!

Previous Threads
Thread I: Warning: No Fanboys Allowed ()
Thread II: Heresy Grows From Idleness
Thread III: Warhammer 40K Fluff Discussion III: You're Emprah? Well I didn't vote for you!
Thread IV: Warhammer 40K Fluff Discussion IV
Thread V:Warhammer 40k Fluff Discussion V -WARNING: May Contain Heresy
Thread VI:Warhammer 40k Fluff Discission VI- They see me Ward'en, they haten

[Tome]

Sharing fluff we've written for our armies? Hmm... I suppose I could do up the history I came up with for my cadre.

If I could find wherever I buried my notes on my hard drive...

[Acanous]

I remember trying to fluff the Sororitas Leopardae, but stopping because I just couldn't scrape off the dirty feels.

Painted 'em pink and white, made extensive use of Repentia :-p

[LeSwordfish]

If we're sharing fluff, perhaps i could link the writing i did for my Dark Heresy characters?

Remora: The Emperor's Light Cleric of Maccabeus Quintus takes on an unbeliever and a test of strength.

Alis: Recruited An unusual job offer for a psychopathic arbitraitor.

Gideon: The Party I know what you did last century.

I swear, they're better than the little blurb bit in italics. I wasn't pissed when i wrote them.

[Renegade Paladin]

Originally Posted by mistformsquirrl

True, but you'll notice on page 7 the quote by Warmaster Demetrius, right?

He's bragging about having half a million men, 30,000 tanks and artillery pieces under his command.

Which would have been impressive... in WWII on Earth. Not especially impressive considering the vastness of space or the shear amount of manpower and equipment needed to subdue an entire planet.

We don't know the scale of Demetrius' operation, though. Admittedly, the fact that he's titled Warmaster and what that means in the Imperium suggests "vast," to say the least, but we also know that Guard tithes on some single planets run into the hundreds of millions per year.

[mistformsquirrl]

And that makes a lot more sense. Maybe I should have phrased it differently as "/some/ writers have no sense of scale" hehe - anyway it's not a big deal, it just mildly bugs me when it shows up is all >.>

[mistformsquirrl]

Oh, I wanted to share some old fluff I'd written up from my first foray into 40k a long time ago. This was written during 4th edition mind, so some fluff may have changed/been clarified since so I apologize if anything is out of synch with the present fluff. (Also apologies if I got anything just flatly wrong.)

Anywho, these are both for armies I might collect someday if this Guard thing works out and I can find a group to game with. Warning, this is relatively long >.> hence it being spoilered.

First up - Craftworld Nepenthe:

Spoiler

Nepenthe – The Void Seekers

Nepenthe is among the smallest and swiftest of the Craftworlds, often likened to a very large ship rather than the vast planet sized constructs of most Craftworlds. Nepenthe’s survival of the birthing of Slaanesh and the damning of the Eldar race is almost solely a function of this speed, for she was among the last Craftworlds built, and many constructed at the same time would not survive the Fall.

After riding out the massive shockwave that heralded Slaanesh’s awakening, Craftworld Nepenthe initially drifted aimlessly, wandering the galaxy without purpose for centuries; her people morose and sullen, and their leader near-mad from her warp-spawned visions. It was not until the death of Lady Allyndra, the first Crimson Seer, that Nepenthe gained a direction.

The loss of their leader left the Eldar of Nepenthe divided as to who should succeed Allyndra – there were no heirs to be had, and times were already precarious for the tiny Craftworld. Things nearly came to blows as the argument over succession reached a critical level, until one of the claimants, Lord Aser, inexplicably endorsed his chief rival and removed himself from the running. His rival, Lord Cathandar was given the position of Crimson Seer, and crisis seemed at last averted.

However Cathandar was an arrogant and ineffective ruler, as capricious as any Eldar could be. He made the Craftworld many enemies among the other races, preying on worlds at a whim and taking slaves for his amusement. Lord Aser, struck with grief over having allowed his world to be so used took his own life.

The Long Chase and the Revival of Nepenthe

Cathandar’s rule was not to last however; his abuse of the Mon-Keigh found his Craftworld pursued by dozens of Imperial warships, and Nepenthe, though a powerful target with a small navy of her own; would have been annihilated against such forces. Even her speed could not outrun the warships, and Cathandar quickly became sullen and spent more time hiding in the throne room, wiling away the days as the Imperial ships slowly gained ground on the seemingly doomed Nepenthe.

While most of the Craftworld’s leaders prepared for their eventual fate, a pair of warlocks devised a daring and risky plan to save their world from Cathandar’s doom.




Their names were Claryion and Laern, both among the earliest Eldar births after the Fall. They were young for their positions, but both displayed significant talent; and their close friendship became even closer as the decades passed, eventually blossoming into love. The pair’s significant psychic skills had found them assigned to Lord Cathandar’s bodyguard; but they quickly grew disillusioned with the craven lord of Nepenthe.

So it was that as the Imperial ships closed on Nepenthe, Claryion and Laern made their way to the heart of the Craftworld, where the great iron statue of the Avatar of Khaine had stood since the Fall. There were no Exarchs presiding over the place, for Nepenthe had yet to be visited by any of the Phoenix Lords, and no Shrines of War yet graced her wraithbone towers. So they were alone before the Bloody Handed God, Kaela Mensha Khaine. Here they gave themselves to each other one final time; and then, merely days before the Imperial ships would catch Nepenthe, Laern walked away from his lover and into the embrace of Khaine.

This was the first time the Avatar had awoken on Nepenthe, and the whole of the Craftworld shook at his thunderous steps. Led by Claryion to the throne room of the Crimson Seer Cathandar, Khaine passed his judgment on the cowardly lord, incinerating his body and leaving naught but ash; his soulstone never to be placed in the infinity matrix.

The terrified members of the court proclaimed Claryion the new Crimson Seer immediately, too terrified of the god made manifest backing her.

Although not as psychically powerful as her predecessor, Claryion’s courage and clear headed vision gave her an opportunity Cathandar had missed, for it was a risky ploy, and would require significant luck to be successful..

The Craftworld changed course, turning to face the oncoming Imperial warships, and seemingly speeding to their demise. The precise nature of what happened next has become skewed by nearly 10,000 years of song and legend; but what can be gathered is that the Avatar’s psychic fury was somehow channeled through every Eldar aboard Nepenthe, and then through its wraithbone hull, creating a vicious mental shockwave that traveled across the void and slammed into the Imperial Fleet.

The Mon-Keigh were completely overwhelmed, officers who had faced Daemons in bording actions went to pieces; many ships were abandoned utterly in panic, and the Emperor Class Magestum Cartha plowed into the Mars Class Battlecruiser Infinitum Dei whilst attempting to escape the baleful energies radiating from Nepenthe. The havoc wrought on the Imperial fleet gave Nepenthe and her small navy time to escape. By the time the Imperium could reorganize for pursuit, Nepenthe had all but vanished.

Aboard the Craftworld all was not well however. The massive psychic energy she had harnessed had transformed Claryion into a crystalline statue; and the Avatar’s energies had been utterly dissipated; Laern’s fiery spirit having been wholly subsumed in the desperate gamble.

This time there was no squabbling over the throne of the Crimson Seer; the purity and sacrifice of two young and promising warlocks to save their entire craftworld united the people of Nepenthe as never before. A council was set up to govern until such time as a suitable leader could be found.

Culture of Nepenthe

Today, Nepenthe flits across the stars pursuing enigmatic and sometimes seemingly frivolous goals. The Eldar of Nepenthe have come to see in the tale of Claryion and Laern a new beginning for their race, and a chance to leave behind what once was. As such they have adopted an attitude they call “The Forgetting” toward the Eldar Empire of old; leaving behind both the sorrow of other Craftworlds over the loss of their Empire, and the aggression of others such as Biel-Tan toward restoring that which has been lost.

The Nepenthe see it as a wasted effort to shed tears over something so completely obliterated, and indeed most alive aboard the Craftworld today know very little of the events of the past, as they are passed on only among the Warlocks and Farseers that guide Nepenthe on her eternal journey through the stars.

This attitude of forgetfulness has resulted in a culture that bears some resemblance to the more powerful and well known Craftworld Saim-Hann, as both people’s do not tie themselves so rigidly to the Eldar system of paths. The Nepenthe however are not quite so wild, nor so bold; as the small size of the Craftworld dictates that to survive it must operate with caution and stealth, even compared to other Eldar, in regard to any contact with others – be it trade or conflict.

The Eldar paths have found their niche on Nepenthe, despite their lesser emphasis compared to most craftworlds. On Nepenthe, an Eldar does not wholly adapt him or herself to their path, but rather brings the path into line with their own preferences and abilities, at least within reason. It is thus not uncommon to find Nepenthe Eldar of a particular Aspect Shrine with significant personalization to their ritual costumes, including outlandish patterns and wild colors, or flourishing scarves and other additions beyond the norm.





All this freedom does leave Nepenthe somewhat vulnerable to the Great Enemy just the same; and where other Craftworlds rely primarily on the discipline of the Path system to keep their populations from slipping into dangerous waters; Nepenthe relies on its corps of Warlocks to screen for corruption. None are above this scrutiny, not even the Crimson Seer, for the lessons of the founding legend of Nepenthe are only too clear in this regard. A poor leader could spell the end for even a Craftworld.

Military

Nepenthe’s extremely low population makes direct military confrontation a near impossibility. Instead, the Craftworld uses its superior speed to outrun the vast majority of foes, simply avoiding battle altogether. There are of course times where this is simply not an option.

When the warriors of Nepenthe take to the field, they do so with the utmost caution. Rangers, who are trained within the Craftworld rather than as outcasts, reconnoiter the field ahead of the main group while Swooping Hawks wait high in the clouds above the field; unseen and unknown. When battle is joined, Striking Scorpions will almost inevitably be at the tip of Nepenthe’s spear, cutting down officers and command groups, and generally sowing confusion and terror into the enemy. Moments later, Warp Spiders emerge from the Webway, instantly striking at vital infrastructure and vulnerable vehicles before opening fire on the survivors.

The Hawks dive low, scattering bomblets as they glide over exposed enemy positions and cutting down fleeing soldiers with their lasblasters whilst the Rangers prevent any escape.

In less time than it takes to tell, an entire force can be neutralized as an effective fighting machine. This kind of precision coordination and stealthy operation is required, as Nepenthe’s warriors are always outnumbered, and each that falls is an enormous blow to the Craftworld.

A few deceased warriors have their soulstones placed inside the massive wraith constructs known as Wraithlords, but this is rare as it is both distasteful in the extreme, and also difficult to find a place for the stalwart dead in the precision operations of Nepenthe’s warmachine.

Second - the Order of the Lioness (Sisters of Battle):

Spoiler

Order of the Lioness

“Let the Emperor speak through thy Bolter’s roar,
Let the Righteous be lifted up by that holy sound!”


History

The Order of the Lioness was initially founded in early M40 to honor St. Dona the Stout. St. Dona had been a fierce preacher of the Imperial Creed, and was honored with Sainthood for her valorous acts in the Klayteen Schism. There, she single handedly held the sole bridge into the inner sanctuary of the Illumina shrine against heretic and alien alike; succumbing to her wounds only after the Sisters of Battle arrived to see off the last of the foe.

Those who had witnessed her final moments in combat claimed that her ferocity in defense of the shrine was as a lioness protecting her cub. Sainthood would not come for Dona the Stout for nearly a millennia yet; but her legacy inspired a young Palatine to petition the head of her Order for permission to separate and found an Order on the holy works of Dona.

As a trial of faith, this Palatine – one Jean Sheerard – was asked to undergo the rigours of the Repentia until such time as the Prioress deemed her worthy for such a responsibility. Jean accepted, and gave up her armor, bolter and her position as a Palatine; instead going to war with nothing more than a simple missionary’s robe and a mighty eviscerator.

For nearly seven years she found herself thrust regularly into the worst of the fighting, and for nearly seven years, Jean somehow emerged from the thick of things singing the Emperor’s praises and carving through His enemies with her eviscerator roaring triumph.

Permission was at last granted after she gave up her sight during a duel with a heretical Chaos Marine. The monster’s warp-spawned powers struck her blind at the height of the battle, only for Jean’s eviscerator to deliver an Emperor-guided blow that removed the top of his skull, spraying brain gore across the broken rock where they had fought.

Now blind, Jean was given her armor and weapons back, as well as being granted the position of Prioress of the newly formed Order of the Lioness.

Practices and Beliefs

The Order of the Lioness is among the smallest of the Orders Militant. Its numbers are kept low by a combination of harsh recruiting practices, relentless crusading, and the sometimes unfortunate habit of holding their ground even when such a position becomes quite untenable. Many a Sister Lioness has found martyrdom holding a position most Imperial commanders would have abandoned much sooner. This stubbornness is one of the defining characteristics of the Order of the Lioness.

Compared to the other Orders Militant, the Order of the Lioness is perhaps the least concerned with straight religious zealotry, and perhaps the most concerned with the temporal application of force. Though there is no doubt they are devout adherents of the Imperial faith, the Sisters often prefer to show their strength of conviction with force of arms instead of loud chanting.

To this end, the Order of the Lioness only maintains a single Shrine World, Klaytor, home of the Illumina shrine of St. Dona. Instead of keeping watch on the Imperium and endlessly stamping out heresy and mutation as they inevitably try to destroy the Emperor’s good works, the Sisters Lioness have spent most of the last millenia crusading across the length and breadth of the galaxy, wherever they can find ships to take them. Most often they affix themselves to an (oft only barely aware) Imperial crusade, bringing faith and fire right to the wretched holes of the Alien and the Heretic.

The recruitment practices of the Order of the Lioness tend to be less than uniform; though they typically bear a similar theme. Generally, the Palatine or Cannoness in command of a force is given leeway to choose who to send back to Klaytor; and from there the prospective recruit is given some basic martial training, a set of simple monastic robes, and an eviscerator chainsword. At this point the recruit will be sent out with the next crusade group to prove her mettle in combat. The failure rate at this stage is quite high, but the ritual has proven to leave only tough, determined and rugged individuals alive long enough to receive the approval of their superiors and become full Sisters of Battle.

By their nature, Sisters Lioness tend to be proud, aggressive, and inevitably stubborn; and they tend to see themselves as Knight Crusaders as much as Shrine Maidens. This has in the past led to some friction with other Orders when working side by side; as many are inclined to protect holy places first and foremost, whereas the Sisters Lioness often take the stance that the best defense of a shrine, is to destroy whatever threatens it before it can do any damage.

Colors, Paraphernalia and Heraldry

The Order of the Lioness wear’s a light grey power armor with white robes and golden trim. Their chief emblem is a lioness rampant in gold or white (white if painted, gold if embossed), often with a sword either in hand or in the backdrop.

It is not uncommon for Sisters Lioness to carry adamantine shields into combat embossed with the seal of their order. While most often they prefer to fight with bolter and flamer, when the enemy inevitably closes (and given their compunction against retreat), many Sisters have found it a useful addition. They also serve to display an individual Sister’s campaign awards.

< . .>

[Cheesegear]

Originally Posted by Squark

Argue the morality of the setting yet again (Oh, how we wish you wouldn't)

What if we talk about female Space Marines?

*runs*

[hamishspence]

Originally Posted by mistformsquirrl

And that makes a lot more sense. Maybe I should have phrased it differently as "/some/ writers have no sense of scale" hehe - anyway it's not a big deal, it just mildly bugs me when it shows up is all >.>

In Deathwatch, the Achilius Crusade began with some 1 billion frontline combat troops- and by the "present" when the PCs are involved, it's grown to 6 billion. And this represents only 20% of the military actually assigned- the rest tend to be in reserves, garrisons, security, etc.

[Brother Oni]

Note to Squark - we're on the Seventh thread.

Originally Posted by Cheesegear

What if we talk about female Space Marines?

*runs*

*Prepares the pitchforks and burning torches*

[GolemsVoice]

Let's talk about the morality of female Space Marines. Bonus points if we manage to get Hitler in the mix.

[Cheesegear]

Originally Posted by GolemsVoice

Let's talk about the morality of female Space Marines.

I don't think that's justified.

[Hazzardevil]

I'm certain that we've had a Warhammer thread on Giantitp with this subtitle before....

So, It is obvious that the people who keep trying to shoehorn female Space Marines into 40K are all Commie Socialist Nazi mutant xenos scum.

[shadow_archmagi]

Originally Posted by Cheesegear

I don't think that's justified.

Yeah, regardless of the circumstances, you can't really justify women.

[Cheesegear]

Originally Posted by shadow_archmagi

Yeah, regardless of the circumstances, you can't really justify women.

Not sure if serious, or taking the joke too far...


Anyway, back to some real Fluff Thread topics instead of everyone trying to derail the thread in their own special way...

I'm almost finished all the books in the Advent Bundle from December, and Betrayer is really good. Lorgar is being a massive douche - but that's normal at this point - and Angron is well, Angron. What else do you want from a book? Although it really, really, really helps if you've listened to Butcher's Nails first, too.

[Platinius]

there is nothing like a discussion about female space marines to start a 40k thread

[GolemsVoice]

I never quite got into audiobooks, and I'm just not a fan of downloading "Books", but maybe I should give an audiobook a try? How's the overall quality, especially the voices?

[CN the Logos]

Originally Posted by Platinius

there is nothing like a discussion about female space marines to start a 40k thread

What about a sorceress who's used her space magic to extend her life indefinitely and augment her physical abilities, leading a group of Chaos Space Marines? Who happens to wear power armor, and has a Chaos HQ statline because magic? I know the setting already includes people who are more or less normal except for being inexplicably immortal, so the classic "vain sorceress who uses dark magic to extend her life" character type shouldn't be that out of place.

It's probably not going to change how I fluff my Chaos dudes, but I'm curious to see what the fluff-fan reaction would be to that bit of backstory.

[Wraith]

To my mind, that would equate to some kind of evil equivalent to an Inquisitor.

Special training, augmetics on demand, "psychic" powers, access to special equipment like Power Armour, bolters and the likes....
Or she's just a particularly revered Champion of Chaos and has been festooned with gifts to make her as tough and strong as she needs to be to crack heads and assert herself; there's precedent for Chaos Marines to take orders from someone other than another Chaos Marine, willingly or otherwise.

There's dozens of ways to interpret it that probably wouldn't upset most people - anything but "she is/used to be a Space Marine" is reasonable by the game standards.

[GolemsVoice]

Heck, Slaanesh likely has a whole host of.... things who are more or less female and lead armies. However, Slaanesh being Slaanesh applies.

[hamishspence]

"Ex-Inquisitor" isn't all that uncommon a background for Chaos sorcerers.
Black Crusade is based around a mixed party of Chaos Marines and mortals (mortals get extra gifts to keep them competitive)- the marines don't have to be the party leaders.

[CN the Logos]

Originally Posted by Wraith

To my mind, that would equate to some kind of evil equivalent to an Inquisitor.

Special training, augmetics on demand, "psychic" powers, access to special equipment like Power Armour, bolters and the likes....
Or she's just a particularly revered Champion of Chaos and has been festooned with gifts to make her as tough and strong as she needs to be to crack heads and assert herself; there's precedent for Chaos Marines to take orders from someone other than another Chaos Marine, willingly or otherwise.

There's dozens of ways to interpret it that probably wouldn't upset most people - anything but "she is/used to be a Space Marine" is reasonable by the game standards.

Originally Posted by GolemsVoice

Heck, Slaanesh likely has a whole host of.... things who are more or less female and lead armies. However, Slaanesh being Slaanesh applies.

Well, if anyone's interested, the fluff I'm working on for this warband is that they're essentially seeking some sort of gnostic-esque enlightenment. They revere psychic power because to obtain true understanding, etc, etc... one must have some level of knowledge and control over what amounts to the collective unconscious. So while they deliberately invoke the Ruinous Powers to further their understanding and gain power, they view anyone who actually worships the Chaos Gods with contempt. It doesn't save them from the occasional mutation-related causality, but I didn't say they weren't doomed as tragic (anti)heroes or that they were especially self-aware in that regard.

Anyway, with that in mind, the reason these Chaos Marines would follow a squishy human is that she's sufficiently knowledgeable and skilled to sustain her continued life by sorcery alone. Also she's charismatic and is good at getting her followers to see her as a surrogate mother-figure, and if it comes down to it, can crack heads to assert herself if need be.

So I don't want to use Slannesh as an explanation for these guys, or my Sorceress in particular. Slannesh would probably find them all pretty boring: too much meditation, not enough dubstep or COCAINE.

Any thoughts?

[hamishspence]

The Inquisition Phaenonite faction has an element of "using Chaos powers while despising the Chaos gods".

Originally Posted by CN the Logos

Well, if anyone's interested, the fluff I'm working on for this warband is that they're essentially seeking some sort of gnostic-esque enlightenment. They revere psychic power because to obtain true understanding, etc, etc... one must have some level of knowledge and control over what amounts to the collective unconscious.

Pre-heresy, the Thousand Sons seemed to have a similar outlook "The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance"

[Tome]

Originally Posted by CN the Logos

Any thoughts?

Firstly.

Secondly, I do believe it's been mentioned in cannon that not every "Chaos Space Marine" is actually an astartes - some of them are just people with enough heretek augmetics or blessings from the dark gods to boost their statline to the same level, who just so happen to wear power armour and wield bolters because those are some of the better equipment available. Which means your sorceress is totally within the bounds of cannon.

[DaedalusMkV]

Originally Posted by Tome

Secondly, I do believe it's been mentioned in cannon that not every "Chaos Space Marine" is actually an astartes - some of them are just people with enough heretek augmetics or blessings from the dark gods to boost their statline to the same level, who just so happen to wear power armour and wield bolters because those are some of the better equipment available. Which means your sorceress is totally within the bounds of cannon.

At the very least, Warpsmiths are explicitely laid out to often not be actual Space Marines at all; some of them are said to be just a Tech-priest's ancient, Warp-infused brain inside of a mechanical body vaguely reminiscent of a Space Marine's Powered Armour, and I expect that they can exist all along the spectrum. I see no reason why the same couldn't be true for other 'Chaos Marines' as well, either through mastery of psychic powers, Daemonic Gifts or tech-heresy.

[Cheesegear]

Originally Posted by GolemsVoice

How's the overall quality, especially the voices?

The overall quality is good, especially on any disc with Toby Longworth. He sounds exactly like a Space Marine is supposed to!

Good ones...
Raven's Flight, Dark King/Lightning Tower, anything with Garro on the front (except Sword of Truth) and Butcher's Nails.

I don't think Sword of Truth was as bad I think it is. I think I'm just upset that Varren has a better story to tell and we don't get to hear it.

Coincidentally, all the best audio books are tied into the Heresy. I'm pretty sure I have all the audio books BL has put out (certainly any AB that makes it to store shelves), and the ones that don't involve the HH are all...Well, pretty bad. Except Fireborn which was good, and Red & Black which is bland for the most part except for it's ending which doesn't hold back...The phrase 'Morally Justified' springs to mind.

The original trilogy of the Horus Heresy novels are all decent. But, with so many characters in those books, eventually you run out of voices (even the talented VAs will at some point)...And Sanguinius is the one who takes that bullet. His voice is awful.

I liked A Thousand Sons.

[shadow_archmagi]

Interesting! I hadn't realized that some CSM hadn't undergone the specific super special procedure with geneseed and stuff.

[Tome]

Originally Posted by shadow_archmagi

Interesting! I hadn't realized that some CSM hadn't undergone the specific super special procedure with geneseed and stuff.

Chaos is an equal-opportunity employer.

[Artanis]

Weird query that just popped into my head:

It started with this thought: Khorne, being the Blood God, grows stronger from violence, while Gork and Mork, being the Orks' gods, would presumably grow stronger from Orks doing "Orky" things. However, bashing heads is one of the most "Orky" things an Ork can do, which raises the question, when Orks get into a fight, how much do G&M benefit as compared to how much Khorne benefits?



(I apologize if this is explicitly spelled out somewhere, but if it is, I can't find it because my access to background info right now is limited to just what I can find online).

[The Glyphstone]

G+M punch him in the face whenever he tries to steal their 'juice'.


More seriously, I'd say it would benefit him, but to a very small degree, far less than from humans or other races in that same situation. Khorne is Violence, but he is primarily Anger and Hate, with a healthy dose of Blood. Orks fight all the time, but their (internal) fighting rarely ends in death, and they don't really feel anger or hatred in combat. It'd be nourishing, but in the way a weak and flavorless broth would be, compared to a steak dinner with all the fixings that comes from a band of World Eaters tearing the limbs off babies.