Who are the Night Lords? | 40k lore

[@11jerans]

The canonically accurate way to play Nightlords is to set up your pieces, watch your opponent to set up their pieces, then, upon realizing you’re not guaranteed victory, retreat from the field of battle without ever firing a shot

[@ZiggySA]

While claiming victory

[@RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus]

@@ZiggySA after harassing their mother

[@candle_eatist]

Set up your pieces, then upon realizing your victory is not guaranteed, walk over to their child's room then slowly disassemble their child in front of them, making sure they know who the true victor is.

[@Prophetofthe8thLegion]

And killing that one Lieutenant out of spite.

[@NapGod]

Ah, The Painted Count stratagem.

[@Dallows65]

FUN BIT OF TRIVIA! So, Konrad Curze - interesting name right? I'm pretty sure it's a reference (Much like Fyodor Karamazov is a reference to Fyodor Dostoievsky's book "The Brother's Karamazov"), specifically to Colonel Kurtz from the movie Apocalypse Now, which is based on the book "Heart of Darkness" Written by Joseph Conrad - hence Konrad Curze. They even got cheeky and swapped the K and C around so we have Joseph Conrad/ Col. Kurze versus Konrad Curze. Sneaky authorses... BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! In Lore, Konrad Kurze is killed by an assassin named M'shen. In the movie Apocalypse Now, Colonel Kurtz is a rogue US Colonel who is ordered to be tracked down and killed by a US Army Intelligence Officer named Benjamin Willard. When Willard finds Colonel Kurtz, he is offered no resistance as the Colonel has been *mentally broken from his long and savage war and in-fact asks for Captain Willard to take his life." AND WE'RE STILL NOT DONE. GUESS WHAT ELSE?! The Actor who played Benjamin Willard? HIS NAME WAS MARTIN SHEEN. Colonel Kurtz and Martin Sheen? Konrad Curze and M'Shen? Yeah! Fuckin clever. I'll also be the first to admit that I didn't know all of this myself, but instead My Mother drew the connection after a conversation between my brother and her about the Nightlords and Konrad Curze.

[@alfredincognito7678]

You'd have to be pretty stupid not to get those referances instantly

[@Dallows65]

@@alfredincognito7678 lmao, dude. Not everyone has read Heart of Darkness OR seen Apocalypse Now, and I doubt that the number of people who’ve read Dostoievsky is going up. And don’t even try to bullshit me on the M’Shen / Martin Sheen connection - you didn’t know that one was there. Stop trying to project your insecurities by being an uppity asswipe over cultural references that you only understood because you were an AP student and need to throw that status around to make up for all the friends you never had.

[@flaviomonteiro1414]

Your mom is awesome!

[@franlovelsimic8421]

Based mom

[@apossiblyhereticalalphaleg3595]

@@alfredincognito7678 Or, you know, just never have watched Apocalypse Now or know the name of the actors/characters?

[@mcchicken1849]

Calling the Night Lord's spooky all while having a skeleton as a profile pic really drives home the fact that the Night Lord's are indeed very spooky.

[@mrcheese6247]

Originally, when I first got into warhammer I tried to paint ultra marines but I used a really dark blue, and used blood splatters (paint blood not real blood) to cover up my mistakes then i learned about the night lords and was like “oh hey that’s what I made”.

[@Teno2001]

Big brain move.

[@SilasKeon]

Happy little mistakes that ended up being great.

[@jocosesonata]

@@SilasKeon Now I'm imagining a Bob Ross type Night Lord, who always speaks softly and calmly, while committing the most horrifying torture imaginable, and guiding his fellow Night Lords how to do it. "Good evening, friends. Today we're going to skin this noble child in front of its mother."

[@TheFirstVonGunther]

Turns out the real Night Lord was the friends we made along the way (They all went crazy thinking they were the Night Lord)

[@dexaphobia8085]

Maybe the real night lords were the voices in our head the whole time

[@RomanvonUngernSternbergnrmfvus]

@@dexaphobia8085 those just tell me to take out all witnesses and to burn stuff, I think that might be a space shark or a member of the inquisition.

[@CasualSlayer]

Dude, I've been binging your videos coz it just feels like finally having that one friend who casually nerds out with me on warhammer lmao. Keep it up man

[@ironduke5058]

I couldn't put my finger on the vibe he's giving but yeah that's exactly what his videos feels like

[@Goofygooberston]

"You like Nightlords because of their emo haircuts, I like Nightlords because terrorism is based. We are not the same"

[@frogmaiden6015]

Their self-awareness is so torturous to them that they run it you with jetpacks on their backs and chainsaws in their handsets the funniest thing ever

[@Eckskalibur]

I think self-awareness is a byproduct of his actual positive attribute, which is a very strong sense of justice and his negative aspect is either self-doubt or sadism. Which would make sense, since if you can balance out the two you could have the widest perspective of the world and be more compassionate, though seemingly cold. But clearly, with how Konrad basically got poisoned and sort of poisoned himself by consuming a criminal after digging himself out of a really deep hole, it skewed almost any chance for him to reconcile his two sides. And since he couldn’t really lose either side of the coin, his sense of Justice likely made him question himself a damn lot because he’s using the same methods he’s flaying the fuck out of people for.

[@theodorehodbor5080]

Given what sort of planet he landed on as a literal baby I am almost certain Konrad had justice borderline encoded into his DNA. Had he not I don't really know why he wouldn't have just become a crime lord and took over Nostramo that way over going through the whole Evil Batman arc. Like from what I remember it's not even like Konrad was doing that at first then decided to go Batman mode, he literally started doing it almost as soon as he could walk.

[@aethelfrithofbernica]

​@theodorehodbor5080 Yeah, one of his first acts was saving a little girl. She was being attacked by an older man, and he just straight up murdered the dude. I think Curze offered his head to the girl as a gift? Dunno, could be wrong. But these two people were literally the first humans he had ever met, he had just climbed out of his pod's impact crater.

[@DioDeezBrando]

Night lords are cool

[@YaBoyTroy1138]

Night lords are cool

[@wikipediaintellectual7088]

If you like murderfucking

[@kingjayk5092]

Night lords are cool

[@velstadtvonausterlitz2338]

Calm down edge lords. Terror has a useful military application, but it requires a far more careful analysis to know where and how it should be applied. In Konrad's case, he just went wild with it without considering the circumstances he is in, and how his harshness is quite unnecessary by how he applied it without much restraint that leads to his insanity, and the fall of his legion to immorality due to the fact that they become so jaded, and desensitized into liking what they are doing instead of just treating such action, or methods with absolute professionalism.

[@kingjayk5092]

@@velstadtvonausterlitz2338 yea that’s cool Konrad going full schizo is cool

[@jamesf3871]

Konrad Curze is my favorite primarch. I know your videos are primers instead of deep dives, but you could easily spend hours discussing his lore. And the Night Lord characters like Sevatar and Talos are paradoxically some of the “noblest” in the setting. I can picture Curze the Night Lords, at least at the start, as someone who reads Machiavelli’s “The Prince” and decides to take the “ends justifies the means” and it’s better to be feared than loved” to their logical conclusions. Fantastic legion, and they would be my favorite if I didn’t love the knightly aesthetic of the Dark Angels more.

[@thisgoddamusernamestoodamnlong]

I also like his limited interactions with Corax/The Raven Guard. Admittedly, I'm biased. But Kurze notes how similar they are, and Corvus wonders to himself if he would have turned out like curze if he'd landed on nostromo. I also think it's interesting how their powers would have been arguably more useful on each others planets. As Corax being able to hide would have majorly helped someone survive nostomo, and Kurze having foresight could have aided the rebellion on Deliverance.

[@jonathanmarose9685]

As a diehard night lord fan this has to be my favorite description of them. Great job Authur. I first found out about them through index astartes pdfs I downloaded back in the late 2000s when I first got into 40k. Found the first book of the night lords trilogy at the local Barnes & Nobles shortly there after and have been a diehard ever since. Finally jumped into the Horus Heresy game when the black book about the Thramus Crusade was released. Lore in the back is shit, but I don't care it got me the courage to start buying stuff from forgeworld before the prices got too insane. Still happy that I got my Sevatar and Curze models, in addition to a raptor squad and three Contemptor dreadnaughts. Currently building and painting my legion force. I have 2000 points assembled that I'm painting. I'm saving sevatar and Curze to paint last. I want my technique to be perfect before I start work on two of my favorite characters from all of warhammer.

[@zeroex3650]

The Night Lords Omnibus and the Curze primarch book are what made me start reading the 40k books and fall in love with the lore. They also caused me to buy Night Lords as my first army which I'm currently painting up so they'll forever be near and dear to me. On that note, God do I wish they did SOMETHING with Decimus

[@mcchicken1849]

One of the boons of the VIII Legion not bending the knee to Chaos is that their geneseed is still completely usable. Night Lord's that are kicking around the Imperium are not the same ones from 30K like the other traitor legions, but are pure blooded Night Lord's, not half breeds like Honsuo of the IV for example. Also fun fact, due to their geneseed and recruiting from night worlds and or very dark places like underhive prisons, where the recruits have genetically adapted to the dark, they have the best night vision amongst all the Astartes. It's so good that sunny/bright conditions are near unbearable to them without their helmets on.

[@michaelkidd8746]

I love Konrad's story so much. No joke, might be one of my favorite Primarchs It just adds to something ive always felt about the story of WH40k; its a tragedy

[@joubertlucas8001]

I wish the primarch hadn't killed himself, and somehow found some hope (even though that's sort of against the setting). Hadn't heard about these guys, but now I'll try and pick up the omnibus you mentioned to find out more. Great videos, man! Hope you've got peace and hope somewhere.

[@TheBoneZone40k]

yeah, the Night Lords Trilogy is some of the best writing I've ever read for the setting. I'd highly suggest it!

[@Scheisskopf79]

He allowed his death, M'shen did the killing. But it also drove his sons insane. Made them extra brutal. I have the omnibus, a great read

[@TheFlash1218]

​@TheBoneZone40k you got me into this faction and I'm already through the first novel in the trilogy.

[@silent_stalker3687]

10:15 Keep this in mind and read Corax’s novel. We see a son of Corax do this in a way, and keep in mind big E literally pulled himself together to talk to Curze- then fell silent after for 9000 years…

[@MrMalimer]

Cruze is the best primarch because he trusted the process enough to see it through to the mopping up loose ends part.

[@ZillyWhale]

I love when you make primarchs smile.

[@LowRentLefty]

If you ever get the chance, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Carcharodons Astra chapter. They are absolutely one of the dumbest things in the setting, in the best way. They are like Loyalist Night Lord's but shark themed

[@TheBoneZone40k]

I get asked about the Space Sharks a lot more than any other side chapter. And yeah, I do think I will cover them at some point, when I get a chance to read more of their literature

[@TheRedMan77]

They're my favorite Chapter because of just how absolutely fucking terrifying they are. Also, their Chapter Master is literally the size of a fucking Primarch.

[@MrFredstt]

@@TheRedMan77 With custom armor too right because of his size?

[@TheRedMan77]

@@MrFredstt Yeah, he modifies his Terminator Armor with parts of fucking Dreadnought Armor.

[@jamesdeek7039]

The raven guard are emos writing poetry and crying the the shadows. The night lords are black metalheads who drag you into the shadows where a small pool of blood spills from.

[@ReadyAimFire_]

Nightlords just respect and love life. Truly one of most merciful and compassionate chapters.

[@Ghastly1]

I think Konrad's flaw wasn't just the visions themselves, but his unshakable fatalism. Other character's in 40k have visions and try to change or avoid bad outcomes. Konrad came to believe the future was immutable and that was the final nail in the coffin for him.

[@CatgirlTrash]

What I like about the NIght Lords is that they are the Lords of Night

[@Selfimprovementfortheself]

Name: Jason Vorhes Chapter: Night Lords *Known for being too soft in the eyes of his brothers as he only slaughters the women and children over the age of 11*

[@kaeganlagerquist1694]

make another in-depth video where you can actually nerd out abt these guys to full capacity

[@meatguyf1375]

Konrad's big problem is that whenever he saw the possibility of a good or bad outcome with his visions, he always focused on the bad. What, that dude may help me or kill me in the future? Better just kill him now and make sure to err on the side of caution! Like, his entire life was built around him ensuring the worst possible outcome happened by constantly obsessing on only the worse possible outcomes.

[@agentmaine4746]

I for one love Uzas, he's funny

[@MrFredstt]

He actually became sympathetic towards the end

[@4n0nym0u52411]

Your videos are so entertaining. I think ill binge your whole channel again today because its that entertaining. Keep it up, mang!

[@Tarreth]

I never liked Night Lords, because how NOT SM they are. But I grew to like them for their named marines who straight up laid down their own lifes to save normal humans. Justice at its finest, because these innocent weak people did not deserve the shit they were about to go through. Unlike stuff they killed to keep them safe.

[@_courier7]

The night lords went from being a bunch of batmen with no moral compass on steroids to the literal dirlewanger brigade

[@trickeyjamie]

Love all of your videos dude!

[@Vyes]

Would be great to get more Night Lords content. I appreciate how passionate you sound about them. An episode on the omnibus would be awesome!

[@anightlord1852]

Ave Dominus Nox! Truly the only good guys in 40k! *dabs in midnight clad*

[@kookbrah640]

You are going to be big I can tell keep up the good work.

[@jim8123]

YOU PUT SOME FUCKIN RESPECT ON MY MAN UZAS! HE MIGHTVE BEEN INSANE BUT HE WAS A BRO TO THE VERY END

[@jordanmay3287]

Dammit, as good as Bricky’s video is, he didn’t do the Nightlords justice. You sold me on them though. The Vth will always be my favorite, but now I have a favorite traitor legion too

[@DeadGothicRed]

Also you're quickly becoming one of my few lore channels due to your content and my love/obsession of Warhammer lore. Keep it up.

[@leaflovingal1011]

I imagine if you did want to see how we the audience would react to a longer video, grabbing the omnibus would be a good start. Also, you should try to bring bricky in to rant together about the night lords. Good video, as always.

[@NightLordEnjoyer]

"I wanted to be a hero. And look how that turned out."

[@darovitman6720]

I love the Night Lords. I read the Omnibus and my second ever 40K book was Konrads Primarch book

[@eurasiacentertutorials9518]

They are for some my favorite legion, for many of the reasons you laid out.

[@voxcasttonowhereofficial]

Keep up the content Arthur! Lovin every second of your stuff! 😊

[@redquoter]

Bricky says Night Lords are his favorite too - you should collab with him.

[@FullmetalArgus]

I'm assuming you haven't finished the NL Omnibus yet cuz hoo boy that Uzas statement gonna age like fine wine

[@GermanicMountainMan]

Dude I LOVE your content and delivery! Please please please make some 1-2h videos! That would go hard!

[@brotherm4636]

Great video!!! I cannot wait when you publish the lore on my own Legion and of my father, Lorgar Aurelian.

[@myonlyfriendtheend4958]

>hour on the night lord omnibus God I'd love that I read it back in the day and the audio book is so good

[@ethanrumley746]

They are half of my favorite space marine chapter Blood Gorgons are a blend from the cursed founding and I think Nightlords are one of their progenitors, the other being World Eaters, or maybe Alpha Legion

[@TheBoneZone40k]

Night Lords and World Eaters mixed together sounds like you wanted to make walking blenders that could scream

[@ethanrumley746]

@@TheBoneZone40k That pretty much sums them up

[@cnelson1025]

Thanks for getting me into nightlords, theyre my first finished army and i love them so much

[@ciscornBIG]

I'll begrudgingly listen to your opinion about my favorite legion (been a night lord since 2nd) but only because your videos are the best.

[@eskid6516]

Definitely not opposed to more night lord videos

[@brianroesler3556]

This is an outstanding video. Great job!

[@CrashCanuck537]

I just found your videos and it makes me so happy that you like the Night Lords as much as you do. They are my favourite legion, so much so I have their icon as a tattoo.

[@Overanalyse_This]

Thank you to you and Vox in the Void for making it ok to love the Night Lords!

[@owenpower3826]

Every time i see one of these vids it makes me "this" much closer to buying an army and playing warhammer. Very good video!

[@gadzilla6664]

A fine video sir, and that's coming from a veteran 8th Legion player (started in 3rd edition). HH does a much better job of representing the 8th Legion than 40k currently, I must say. But, overall:AVE DOMINUS NOX!!!!! Edit: You have a new subscriber, sir.🤘

[@objectsupr9970]

It got outright written in the night lords trilogy that Konrad Curze hated the veterans too. And that he got killed by a callidus temple assassin. He could have survived, but he believed in the absolute truth of his visions and didn't try. Edit: ah you mentioned that seconds later Edit 2: Yeah they're my favourite. Partially because my name is Konrad

[@nicholasgucwa2065]

Second favorite traitor legion. Hype for Worldeaters coming.

[@hudsondunn8385]

Are you the World Eaters guy?

[@TOOL01-m6b]

@@hudsondunn8385 he is

[@akumaking1]

You should be pals with Bricky; He loves Night Lords too

[@rottenmeat5934]

I’d like to see more of the constant mobilization and intelligence gathering of terror troops. The flaying of children can just be implied, thank you very much.

[@B4reDown]

The raptors are ravenguard and were the genetically mutated sons of corvus corax after the alpha legion sabotaged his new legion recruits after the drop-site massacre.

[@dr.stronk9857]

Found your channel recently and I really love your videos, I already know most of this stuff but hearing it from you is entertaining, so keep it up 👍

[@davidevansolsen8770]

I'm a huge night lords fan so it's always great to see others as well. Ave Dominus Nox

[@drewm326]

ARTHUR, I LOVE THE NIGHTLORDS TOO!! When I was new to Warhammer, I was stressing out about what legion to pick so I can join my friends in Tabletop. I saw one of the 1st pictures of a Nightlord on Google images and I fell in love almost instantly! 1st spotting the shimmering Red bat wings on the helm & analyzing every detail of the Marines armor, looking down I was Hooked! Looked like a marine fresh out of a Heavy metal cover! I thought they where like vampiric Marines or something (before I knew about the blood angels) I asked sent the picture to my friends & they told me the basics about them & funnily pointed out that they tortured people, while also pointing out the filleted face of someone stretched out on the Shin of the same Nightlord I 1st saw which I didn't notice at the time 😅. I like to play "good guys" & to me the Dark angels are as close to looking like Nightlords while doing SOME good, but from afar I still love learning about the Nightlords with every Audio book & scrap of info I can find off of lore channels. (Ps. Sorry for my ramblings, but please! Talk more about the Nightlords!! You gave me so much more info about them than I've found over years of knowing about them!!)

[@beckygrover6338]

Love them. They are the most pure of the legions

[@idkwhattoputheredoesntmatt3244]

13:46 yeah uzas moment

[@steveofthewoods3119]

The Night Lords had my heart at "Lawful Evil Batman"

[@cat_in_a_sock1948]

I thought the story went that the nostraman recruits began to overtake the terrain recruits not "pure" hearted nostramans. That kurze had developed such a culture of fear on nostramo that the humans born into it that he got as recruits where just obsessed with recreating it

[@katgut]

Can see the emperor dip into his curziness when he was becoming the dark king

[@DaKdawg]

I loved the concept of ruling with a sense of extreme justice to the point of tyranny. He hates the legion solely because if you come from the homeworld you're already lacking. Edge lord batman is my favorite description. I'd love to hear the full breakdown, I'm pretty accustomed to long form discussion (2hrs+) so I can't wait for the first hour long vid. The only thing that I dislike about them is that their love of fear causes them to lose focus and they just instead enjoy pushing the weak around, but that's more to their flaw which means they're pretty solid. Yeah...I'd say they are pretty cool.

[@jesperkarlsson2853]

Your voice is so calm and relaxed without being monotone, it's really nice to hear when craving warhammer at work

[@quinnamations9715]

Whilst the Night Lords are not my thing(I’m more of an Alpha Legion guy myself when it comes to the traitor legions), I do understand why people like them. Being a legion of absolutely sadistic superhumans based around fear and terror does have a certain appeal, especially for those who want to be incredibly evil in a setting made up of nothing but villains. Also you’re videos are probably the most chill lore vids I’ve seen on Warhammer, keep it up!

[@diabeticmonkey]

Hydra Dominatus

[@warhounds]

i play night lords because of the reasons you mentioned... with almost half a chapter strong where 300+ models are painted

[@ΒασιληςΛυπηριδης-φ4κ]

I believe Konrad is still ""alive"" in his crown.

[@theone-tg4ey]

shhhhhh ;)

[@hereticjoe4366]

I’m a night lords guy and always will be. Nothing brings me more joy than watching my opponent remove more and more of their minis cause they broke moral and ran.

[@aguspuig6615]

0:19 wouldnt the imperial fists homeoworld be Inwit? wierd nitpick but im curious if its a mistake or im missing something

[@blitzerk270]

4:37 this part had me dieing XD

[@Matt-dn5jc]

Dude, I absolutely love the lore for Konrad Curze. you should definitely make another Nightlords video.

[@jonathanathor117]

4:10 Konrad is more like Azreal than batman.

[@omnilisk279]

“We have come for you.” Is one of their battle cries.

[@innocenceUnknown]

Some days I question Emperor's sanity. Here we have a crazed lunatic that skins people and has visions of the future that drive him further insane, hailing from a planet infested with mostly murderers, thieves, and rapists. Sure here is your large army of Super Soldiers to command. How could this ever go wrong?

[@_Stercore]

the night lords are why i have my back against the wall when i sleep at night

[@anaveragenightlordsfan]

Hell yeah 😎

[@davidmacon1138]

I made my own 40k war-band from 12, that slowly absorbed stragglers and.... acquired vehicles, along with gifts from others, and now it is a full on legion sized company. Ave Dominus Nox

[@DeadGothicRed]

Absolutely love the Night Lords and anyone out there reading this and haven't already, listen to the Night Lords Omnibus and see if you don't become a Night Lords simp. Also the pic at 0:13 is off, Nostramo was destroyed and I'm pretty sure after Rogal Dorn was found on the planet of Inuwit, that it was were they mainly recruited from after. Correct me if I'm wrong lol and wasn't Alpharius found first but kept secret and that he was on Terra

[@IMASAURUS1996]

I'm glad to find someone who loves the VIII as much as I do. Ave Dominus Nox

[@CousinJesse1]

This is the legion you save a round in your gun for yourself.

[@Mokkatomic]

One of those sites selling off brand resin figures was selling a "Sad Batman" primarch

[@TrashenClaw]

The night lord are among my favourite legions, among all the traitors they are the most interesting along with the iron warriors and the alpha legion , they refused chaos and they are space pirates , I would like for them to take their place as one of the greatest traitor legions , and also if it were not for Dorne and sanguinius the night lord would have remained loyal ...so imagine if the space sharks are so strong imagine a whole legion of successor chapters. Also they got hated because they were the only ones that denied killing millions and just some killed some kids

[@Overanalyse_This]

Dude wev WANT hour long videos from you!😊

[@GrayderFox]

Well, I sort of knew about the Night Lords and Curze beforehand, but now it's like, oh, I understand why someone would find them really fuckin' cool and neat. I wouldn't mind hearing you gush about 'em summore, honestly. They actually sound like a really interesting part of the setting. :3

[@Requiem1v9]

Please make longer vids i love these

[@deathknight4170]

i love them their ideology is da best ❤❤

[@thesistersofbattle]

What people don't consider, and is a huge barrier to enjoying the Night Lords, is Konrad knew everything he was made to do, and what needed to be done to complete that task. He hated his legion, not just because they were criminals, but because he knew what they would need to do. If you wanted to theorize, you could say he probably knew Nostramo needed to be what it was so criminals would be recruited. Which made him follow a form of rule that would result in that. Why would he then become upset when it happened if he knew it would? Because he wanted to believe it wouldn't but, when it did, knew what was to follow.

[@Psychoangel-d23]

Konrads ability was to see the potential futures on what actions were taken. Which ultimately led to his downfall. And it all started with that one kid and him deciding to be better safe then sorry.

[@theone-tg4ey]

ikr lol

[@myrealname9656]

"I am Justice..I am Punishment!!!! I am VENGEANCE!!!! and i surrender"... this was said by a Night Lord after he avenged a little girl after she was killed by her overseer... A Night Lord can show empathy that are equal to that of a Salamander... That what makes the Hersey so sad...They had a light that could've heralded a justice system of the Imperium worthy of a NobleBright 40k setting.

[@thejinxtone7069]

Ave Dominus Nox brother

[@vitorzelao]

GW not making ninght lords miniaturer is a crime

[@An_Ian]

In terms of lore these guys are my fav in terms of rules (I dont play table top so take this with some salt) They are meh since fear tactics don't translate so well especially against stuff like necrons and custodians who would sooner scare a nightlord than be scared by one