GATHERING STORM: The Origin of Modern Warhammer 40k | Warhammer 40,000 Lore

[@BentJacket]

For those wondering what happened to the Ynarri story; Seeing the eldar having 4 of the 5 crone swords slaanesh said "My ball and im taking it home" and just yoinked the 5th one. Unable to get the sword, the story is over and never mentioned again. gg. Great vid as usual Ian.

[@Bluecho4]

My assumption is that the Gathering Storm storyline was meant to pave the way for an "End Times" style storyline, such as the one that, well, ended Warhammer Fantasy. In essence, the Ynarri potentially getting the five swords and killing Slaanesh would have been part of a big event that ended 40K, paving the way for a setting reboot like that of Age of Sigmar. But then GW saw how poorly received End Times was, and got cold feet. They didn't necessarily want to torpedo their cash-cow game. So they quietly scrapped plans for a full reboot, and went with the Indomitus Crusade instead. A definite shake-up of the 40K formula, but not the rebuild from square one that Age of Sigmar was.

[@Darktusken]

@@Bluecho4 yep the ynnari was meant to be a way to merge the eldar factions but that plan was abandonned and now the ynari are aimless and without purpose and just sit there as a reminder of that failed idea .

[@BentJacket]

@@Bluecho4 It seems likely you are right. I dont think they need to scrap it however, its pretty open ended. GW have an issue with slaanesh anyway, with the sexual element of it. They did away with the prince of pleasures in AoS already, likely for similar reasons. You can have all the violence you want in the grimdark future but no sex please, we are British. I personally liked that there was some story line going on with a faction other then imperum, I hope something comes of this, if not getting the 5th sword some sort of "Well we got 4, thats pretty good, lets see what we can do with that" or just special Death Cult units for the faction.

[@recce8619]

I'd heard the problem was the Ynarri/Eldar books weren't selling, so they stopped progressing the story

[@jerrywheyland7324]

@@recce8619 that would be too bad. To me it sounded like the most interesting story by far. The whole setup sounds great honestly, involvement of many major factions, all playing pivotal roles in progressing the story and not being complete pushovers.

[@fionn2220]

So much of the art in this campaign was just incredible. Games Workshops artists definitely do not get enough credit because I swear a good 60% of the impact and uniqueness of the setting comes from their work.

[@changer_of_ways_999]

It really is taken for granted a lot. The artwork is so good now, you just "get used to it."

[@Blacknight8850]

Unfortunately they don't get _any_ credit anymore - they stopped listing artist and writer credits from books years ago.

[@yousuck785why]

@@Blacknight8850 wait what the fuck?

[@kyokyodisaster4842]

@@yousuck785why Harassment of a certain Ultramarine writer resulted in GW changing their modius operandi with artists and writers. In short, its to 'protect them from harassment'.

[@djangofett4879]

@@kyokyodisaster4842 can you elaborate? i haven't heard about this

[@talscorner3696]

I remember enjoying Trazhyn's scenes in those books so much: man's chilling in his own tropical retirée when everything in the galaxy is going to fucking shit and when the bell starts tolling so hard it breaks his stuff he's like "OI?! Can't have that!" and casually drops it *in the Webway* xD

[@ArbitorIan]

Yeah it's one of my favourite parts. Even in this, there's space for silliness.

[@talscorner3696]

@@ArbitorIan I think it's one of the reasons I love 40k so much, when the authors manage to slide humour in and it just makes sense with the rest of the context.

[@Kristian.B.Kristiansen]

I can think of few better KZbinrs than you to cover this.

[@lockett7106]

Had to read this a couple times to realise it was a compliment.

[@robertoleary5470]

@@lockett7106 me too 😂

[@Kristian.B.Kristiansen]

@@lockett7106 Ian is fair, balanced, very well read and knowledgeable about the setting. This was a truly excellent primer on a complicated but crucial part of 40k lore.

[@lockett7106]

@@Kristian.B.Kristiansen no doubt. I just misread your comment.

[@vaudevillian7]

Definitely, probably my favourite channel for fluff (or ‘lore’ as it seems to have become now) and GW history, appreciate that he knows what he’s on about and talks like a human talking to other humans and doesn’t try to be edgy or hyper

[@klingonmage]

This was so useful for someone who only got into 40k In 9th edition. Please do a physic awakening summary like this!

[@CrimsonTemplar2]

Definitely!

[@rodmaia2099]

+1

[@qwer9676]

tbh I would ignore this new lore, goes against what 40k was

[@WolfT33]

I love how all the reasons for the factions getting involved is perfectly in line with their character with Chaos being the one causing the conflic resulting in the Imperium reacting while the Eldar are gathered through faith and prophesies and gratee plans and finally the Necrons (Trazyn) just doing it because they (he) thought it'd be fun, all culminating in Chaos doing the space equivalent of flipping the table

[@GustavSvard]

As a veteran non-player (played Warhammer Fantasy Battle from when the first box came out til a few years before Age of Sigmar happened, but the lore of 40k was always compelling!) this does indeed fill in a *LOT* of holes in my knowledge of how the storyline started moving forwards. So, big thanks for making this :)

[@lamicrobio...engros5427]

I remember how exciting it was, how much new stuff coming in and the waiting for the final story line of this arc

[@emeraldcelestial1058]

Dude i love your 40k content so much, its so calm and fun and not 'BIG NEWS IN THE 40K UNIVERSE DAY 204567 EPIC KZbin VIDEO BUT SAME AT THE VIDEO THAT WAS POSTED YESTERDAY' seriously, you are so needed in this community for being chill as fuck

[@Moritat-XIX]

THIS☝️

[@changer_of_ways_999]

My favorite event around the beginning of this was the Siege of Fenris. It was really cool to have a massive showdown of Thousand Sons against Space Wolves.

[@hannahgeraghty4201]

The sisters of silence and Adeptus Custodes joined these crusading armies, only occasionally wiping out all the primaris marines that they were travelling with.

[@Demigodish4o3]

Incredible retelling of events! Makes me excited for the Arcs of Omen events.

[@stewartriley4690]

Being something who only got into 40K in the last year this was really helpful for understanding some of the history of the current setting

[@solarmacharius]

Never understood why GW didn't release this as a novel series as opposed to game books which you can't even buy anymore.

[@AAhmou]

Yup, each of these events could have made a novel on its own. Heck, Fall of Cadia could have been a trilogy.

[@Whistlpig]

This bit about Cawl and the pylons, the eldar etc.. I swear it's in Cawls book, The Great Work.

[@CrimsonTemplar2]

Your presentation style is perfect for this story. Odyssey is almost an understatement.

[@WarriorTier]

I really loved this video, might be my favorite. Really well done as always!

[@alastaircollins1145]

Great Summary, thanks :) I remember when the "Eye of Terror" campaign started being announced and, as the only person in my immediate circle who had cared about Battlefleet Gothic, let alone read the story in the rulebook, I was alone in recognising the Blackstone Fortresses as a sign that an interwoven narrative was being put together. It was exciting.

[@liamross1639]

Hey mate, I just got to say that this sort of video was exactly what I was hoping for. You summarised the lore in such a good way and I would love for you to continue this series covering more events and providing a timeline. Great job, and keep it up!

[@henrikwannheden7114]

My mind is blown. I've been following this development for years, but concentrated like this.. insane. Ian, You are a very good narrator.

[@LimerickJim]

Maybe I'm showing my Ahriman fan boyness but I feel that Yiv reversing the Rubric on a squad of Rubricae in the Webway is an important event of this confluence.

[@flaviomonteiro1414]

This.

[@Inquisdrknss]

Thank you, this is the Lore I missed between leaving the game after the Fall of Cadia and coming back in 2020.

[@Sinistralitee]

Trazyn is probably my favorite character in all this, he's just in here for the fun and nothing else.

[@Bobahat]

Thanks for this, Ian! I've been busy being a new dad for the past few years and came back to 40k completely confused and baffled by what was going on. You brought me up to speed in less than half an hour. You are my bloody hero!

[@syafri88]

Not gonna lie, the scene where Calgar shouted for them to stop, and when Guilliman step out from the machine was a powerful scene that makes your hair stands.

[@BecauseOfDragons]

So incredibly well told. Was properly fascianting and filled in a bunch of gaps for me about what happened before Guilliman was brought back. Can't wait to get more of these giving an overview of the lore leading up to where we are now AND of course the continuation of the Arks Of Omen series. Great stuff as always!

[@smoessmee]

I really like these, I've been away from 40K for quite some time, so it's nice to have concise summaries like this, that also give enough detail to be interesting :)

[@TattooedTabletop]

This is probably one of the best lore videos I've seen on this topic. I've been in 40k for a few years but seldom can I find myself keeping up with everything. This video with all the incredible artwork helped so much! I can wait to see more videos like this as the Arks of Omen unfolds! Lore is what really keeps bringing me into the hobby and you are a masterclass ❤️

[@Eruidraith]

This was such a fun time to be playing! It was so cool to feel like your battles could now kinda be plugged into a specific campaign in the larger clusterfuck. I started running Cadians for the first time, instead of using my guardsmen as counts-as Tallarns, imagining they were hard pressed survivors.

[@GentleBen_86]

Thank you for this. I fell out of the hobby during 4th edition and came back in the middle of 8th so this really helps fill in a lot of holes in the lore for me.

[@mashzapotato]

My memory of the news of these books coming out was a collective sigh of relief in the fandom (at least my part of it). Games workshop's insistence that they would not move past the last year of the 41st millennium had become a weight around the neck of setting and it was starting to stagnate. And while I haven't been super thrilled about any of the new stuff (where my blue-skinned bois at GW?!) I'm glad they're willing to let the setting evolve again.

[@Sonicron86]

Awesome!!! I'd tried to get ahold of the Gathering Storm books, but no luck, so I was completely out of the loop on these important events. Thank you for this retelling - you've saved me money, time and nerves! As before, I'll keep recommending your channel to anyone looking to get into 40k lore. You're simply the best there is for that. :)

[@hallstuart6604]

Thank you so much for doing this!! Great video Ian!

[@phildman132]

As someone with a large 10-15 year gap in my warhammer playing knowledge, this was a great catch up as to what on earth happened to the setting while I was away! Another great lore video as always

[@Pizzifrizzo]

I love that you pointed out that 40k, though now having a "main storyline", is still able to also be a "setting". The recent Charadon and Octarius campaigns are proof of this and the former in particular is one of the better examples of "modern 40k" IMO.

[@qwer9676]

while true there’s now big chunks removed from the sandbox and now turned into a fixed narrative

[@Alexrex77]

I didn't realize how Eldar-heavy this new lore was. thanks for putting this video together.

[@MaxOVADrive]

Ian, thanks for putting this together. Now I don't have to hunt down and over-pay for the Gathering Storm books! Also, how bonkers is 40K? I mean, it's pretty bonkers. I love it.

[@DAMIENDICE]

Fantastic summary! I hope GW picks up the Ynnari storyline some day

[@DziaduzLasu]

OMG that ZX SPECTRUM reference :D 😍

[@adamduncombe594]

Outstanding. Thanks for taking the time to do this! Great stuff

[@volkarve]

I've been hoping you'd do this recap. Great video

[@chrimbuloscron]

Thanks so much! Please keep doing more of these! I'm watching these like I used to watch Saturday morning cartoons in the '80s.

[@alphaprawns]

Awesome video, appreciate the summary. Gathering Storm was around the time I was becoming extremely jaded about GW's general strategy of gouging money with dozens of supplements and army books so I missed a lot of the lore surrounding it, but it's very compelling seeing the overarching storyline progress.

[@Surrogate_Gaia]

A timeline? Yes please. It would be great to have a concise idea of when events take place with the Dark Imperium, even if the Great Rift itself kind of messes with that.

[@davidcook73]

Love these deep dives, Ian, keep them coming!

[@hb3n164]

Incredible video, i never knew where to find the lore on this period. You earned a new subscriber!

[@dalgafaik966]

Great summary. I've read all three of the books, and even I needed that! Can't wait for the following series! Thanks, Ian!

[@316CodeRed]

I'm really looking forward to more summaries like this! Everywhere I've tried to find a condensed retelling of these events or Psychic Awakening or even the recent Warzones, I've gotten too confused.

[@lastsurvivingemothefox9797]

I bought the whole shebang on ebay- got a great deal on all the models n books and art- big big event :) glad to have it on my shelf- and you’ve done a good job covering it

[@nicholasleon7819]

I just love to imagine the disbelief and exuberance Calgar must have felt when his father stood before him restored

[@itshawx4697]

Ok something like this is what I have been looking for for so long If you were to do these in more detail and just more of them I would watch the hell out of these

[@KMn048]

I really appreciate this! Along with your Horus Heresy evolution video, I’ve only been the hobby since covid so I’ve always had a hard time telling what fluff was there before GS because my view of the lore is completely based on what we have in 9th. Keep up (Cawl’s) great work!

[@marcuswallbank3890]

nice work Ian, you made it all easy to understand.

[@seandollard4441]

Great video! It did indeed fill in so knowledge gaps for I felt a bit lost lore wise when I got back into 40K 2 years ago.

[@jsauer30]

Awesome video! I'd love to see a good summary of psychic awakening. I missed out on a few of the middle books.

[@KillerOrca]

This is about the time I first properly got into 40k. I knew it existed before but only in the periphery of my attention. Gathering Storm is when things really got me going.

[@oliverwarren1074]

Thanks so much for this video, fantastic as always and great to get up to speed on what would have otherwise taken be about 100 hours to read

[@JayB9127]

Great update on the Lore, and there I was wonder what to tackle next after the HH! much appreciated thanks

[@mel.vin1848]

Fantastic video. So informative. Please keep up your amazing work.

[@jakewu8268]

A most informative video Arbitor Ian. Great vid. 👍

[@urilacambrafrias]

Amazing video. Really looking forward to more like that.

[@mysticlegion8088]

This was pretty good, thanks.

[@watchingbrian1767]

Cant over state how much of a good job you did and are doing Ian!

[@ArkadiBolschek]

Thank you for these videos! 🙏 I've been quite disconnected from developments in the lore of WH40K for the last few years, and this is really helping me catch up with the storyline going into 10th edition

[@dragonsgreedgaming13]

Great stuff as always. For someone who might not ever get a chance to read the novels, I would love to see more vids like this detailing the lore as it crossed from 7e to 8e and now 9e.

[@Steventrafford]

Thank you very much for this lore. I would love more of this.

[@strawberrypuddin8919]

Something about Gilliman fighting Magnus the Red on the moon is so baller. I haven't read the books yet though, do they exchange fun dialogue? I hope they do

[@theforgottenbard8978]

I can't help but think when guilliman revived it was akin to seeing a wwe hall of famer showing up to beat the current heel.

[@SC1ENCEP1E]

I loved A Border Princes read through of the Campaign Book lore and he was cracking up by the time it got the Red Corsairs, we were all the same tbf

[@mikewicked.x]

Great video, and I'd absolutely love to have you breakdown the story of other narrative campaigns held in the 40k universe in the same way. Maybe also, and I don't know if it's feasible, but a video on the history (and evolution) of the narrative campaign books might also be useful?

[@Awoken_Remmuz]

I remember hearing of this back in the day but since I wasn't as deep into 40k as nowadays I didn't absorb any details. Personally I find this refreshing in a day and age where companies are so paranoid about rocking the boat and stir things up franchises kinda end up feeling like stale swamp water. So the fact GW was willing to commit to an actual step forward in the narrative and actually codify something of impact in 40K is something I respect, even if I can understand why some of the directions isn't everyone's cup of tea.

[@BaijoGosum]

This was great. Looking forward to the next one. Full timeline!

[@bbiaso]

Great video, thanks! I was just wondering what were the latest books in the timeline

[@robert2pkt0]

I am amazed, again, how you can just bind me to intensely listening to your explanaitions of so many layered story elements for 30 Minutes and I feel intellectually fed and stimulated and at the same time I have an inkling more understanding of this vast 40k universe. Thank you! So one question, I am a little new to this (only 16 books in, 9 Ciaphas Cain and the rest your recommendations) - this seems like several factions, emperor botherers, pragmatists and eldar alike side to fight Chaos - is this a trend that continues e.g. with Indomitus or is every alliance connection severed as soon as the story has no more use from it? Just seeing it from the perspective this grim dark thing with no hope is just a phase 🫣 And what book series would you recommend to be able to catch up the the „latest“ developments, so I can just get the new releases in the future?

[@forresttdepriest713]

As always your videos are amazing! Thanks for all the hard work!

[@Florfilm]

Awesome video. My favorite of your lore videos. The only videos I like more are your book club videos.

[@silcharus1]

I was just thinking I needed a summary of recent Warhammer history... and this appears in my feed!

[@66morningview]

Well that was wild! I haven't played 40k for ~15 years (around the time of the 13th Black Crusade/Eye of Terror campaign). So this really useful in catching me up on things. Would love to see more videos bridging the gap from here to Arcs of Omen.

[@ArbitorIan]

Ah, well that's the video called Psychic Awakening!

[@AcornPlays]

I only got into the hobby in 2020, and the vibe I've got is that basically the lore didn't move essentially from like 2nd edition until this Gathering Storm storyline. Since I've been in the hobby they've been adding interesting new little bits and pieces and it's really engaging to follow. I wanna see a few more drastic things like they really should have killed off Calgar in Nihilus

[@rodmaia2099]

This was perfect! …and a timeline? Yes please! I read a bunch of Horus Heresy books but when it comes to 40k millennium I’m completely clueless as to how we got here. Please, more of these! It would be great to do a character driven overview too… Shadowsun pls 😬

[@djangofett4879]

part of that has to do with the 40K narrative is more scattered. it has been treated more as a setting in which various stories can play out. whereas 30k has a more clear-cut overarching narrative. they are starting to piece it together more with the 40K stuff but it's still very scattered.

[@AAhmou]

30k is kinda easy to figure it out. While a lot of stuff did happen, it was in a relatively short timeframe.

[@Oleus]

A simple and clear summary, as usual. Thanks, Ian. 😄

[@disposable157]

I *just* started playing an Ynari army so this provided some much-needed context :D

[@greaterpainter7996]

It would be great to have an entire series of the stories so far. I've returned to 40k in 9th after a decade long hiatus. I missed 6,7,8th editions and none of my local club can give me a real breakdown of what I missed.

[@nakenmil]

I'm still cagey about GW's seeming tendency to "de-dystopize" the Imperium. It's not some complete 180 or anything, but more a subtle shift in art direction and narrative elements that seem de-emphasize the Imperium's internal dysfunction, totalitarianism and monstrous, unimaginable scale. It's been going on a while, and again, it's not complete or anything, it's just big enough to be noticeable. I don't know, maybe I'm just frozen in the 3-7th-ish edition style of the setting where the Imperium was monumentally rotten from within and obviously the cause of most of its own problems, and that was sort of the "joke". Maybe this shift started with the runaway success of the HH novels, which sohwed GW the appeal of both a central, ongoing narrative, and the appeal of active, motivated main characters, which they've now ported into 40k kinda. This isn't to say I think GW's writing USED to be better, it was always pretty hit or miss. But I think I just liked the overall vibe and aesthetic more. I don't know, it's hard to pin down. And I don't want to feed the whole "grognard outrage" machine, which is navel-gazing and stupid.

[@PelinalDidNothingWrong]

Gathering Storm was good but man it should've been spread out more to allow certain elements to breathe more

[@mead813]

Thanks. I wanna read this too, but didn't know what books go where.

[@JR-dd4ec]

Another freaking great video by you Ian!!!!!

[@tremolo_painter]

"Um, sir, will all of this be in the test?" :) I am going to have to watch this more than once to follow it!

[@ithemba]

I began playing in 3rd and played through 4th edition before stopping for many years. I remember checking in after I heard about Gathering Storm, reading the campaign book, since I knew the whole Cadia scenario well from the Eye of Terror Campaign, and being complete put off by its style. I never started playing again, basically turning my back on 40k again for years and years. What I loved about the warhammer books was the suggestive open world feeling of all the bits of lore: seldom was any bit of lore established as definitive fact, a lot was purposefully obscured, ie because the lore text was a fictive piece of imperial archive material and had been censored by the Inquisition or some such. Most stuff was rumored or at least overshadowed by doubt or different theories, or straight up superstition. Texts that conciously tried to NOT be canonical. The feeling of the slow decay of knowledge and information over the 10.000 years since the heresy into a world of controlled propaganda, blisfull ignorance and turning into religious dogma what once was straight up history or fact: I remember how the first codex Malleus made VERY clear that the popolace (and rank and file of the Imperial Army) were left ignorant about the very existence of the threat Chaos, Demons and even the continued existance of traitor legions. Planets population was systematically purged after they encountered (and beat back) Chaos Invasions so as to contain the information about the very existance of that threat - just as with the populace of Armageddon after the first war, when they beat back Angorns World Eaters. I remember how my friends and I spent the summer of the eye of terror campaign heatedly discussing all the lore implications and or hints and bait in the campaign book about characters and their motivation to take part in the battle for Cadia. I LOVED that. It always felt like an invitation to tell your own stories in the dark future of the 41st millenium. It was a exclamation mark: Insert your own story here! I was sooooo taken aback by the new style and the demystification of once completely mythical figures like Primarchs by having them as straight up protagonists of the story. The 42nd Millenium and its lore basically has barely anything left of what Wh40k was for me.

[@minipaintingforyou]

Sounds a lot like a reunion episode in season 11 of a sitcom, that really only had enough inspiration for 4 seasons 😂 Thank you for sharing!

[@DARmanbuttermilk1136]

Holy shit this was so cool to hear. The build up to the revival of Guilliman made me so hype. Courage and Honor! Made me hype to be an Ultramarine.

[@Olivernicholasbradbury]

That’s a hell of a lot of backstory to justify having slightly bigger space marines 😂

[@Mr_Waffle.]

Great summary, thank you! I’ve read the wiki articles but there’s just so much stuff to take in and it’s hard to follow the actual story itself. I hope you’ll do a Pariah Nexus video as well someday (or whatever was 8th to 9th edition) since I’m not actually sure the context of it, it seems to be just a small self-contained story with no effect on the rest of the galaxy…?

[@grayson6451]

amazing work!

[@JFRiley]

Thank you for this! I’m a newcomer to the hobby, don’t play the game, I just like the lore. Like most people I’ve been upping my 40k eduction with Leutin09 videos. What I was never able to grasp was the setting, “today.” I was always wondering if the players in the 80s and 90s also had the fall of Cadia and the great rift as a backstory, or if that was new. And where Eisenhorn/Gaunt (the two series I’ve read so far) fit into the equation. This pulls it all together, again, thanks! (Now who is this damn Silent King dude…)

[@kwanzaatim]

My man.... Thank you, you do a great job.

[@jonbaxter2254]

I have become engrossed in 40k lore ever since Astartes. Love learning new shit about it.

[@Rostov_red_beard]

first rate video! great content! question. What are those candles in the background?

[@sagichnicht6290]

imagine a Series about this.

[@poppyappletree1400]

My personal interpretation is that the original description of the 13th Black Crusade - in which Eldrad dies - is a future foreseen by Eldrad which he chooses to avert.

[@brianbowers2318]

Brilliant video. I hope against hope that you will undertake a similar series once Warhammer: The Old World is released.