40k 5th Ed. seems to hint at a bit of narrative progression, with the Golden Throne starting to falter and the Imperium starting to finally crumble.

So i thought it might be quite fun to engage in a bit of speculation...

The Golden Throne fails and the Emperor dies...what happens next?

The emperor does not die and the golden throne fails happily for another ten thousand years.

I don´t really expect that the stalemate will ever change, otherwise you could burn all your rule- and sourcebooks on a funeral pyre in the backyard. A major change would effectively destroy the games feel.

The Golden Throne is not actually failing, and we have a second heresy.

To stop the fluff from changing and giving us the closure we never wanted we should form some sort of conclave to keep the Imperium in a constant status quo. Down with progress, the Imperium is awesome as it is.

I vote that we hold this conclave at Mount Amalath. All in favour?

I still have to think of a name for the movement though...

Don't know if we'll ever see this - not really sure if I ever want to see this.  However, it might be a great entry into exploring more of the "Imperium" (other than Space Marines) by introducing all sorts of new factions/organizations/etc.

AJC

AJCarrington said:

I think you're right.  GW never will advance their narrative. 

AJCarrington said:

Well, since GW never will, i thought it might be fun to speculate as to what might happen when the Emperor does shuffle off his mortal coil...

It seems however, to be literally unthinkable for the forumites here...

Luddite said:

I personally like the conspiracy where he already is "dead", has been for thousands of years and the old Chaos lads aren't all wrong is saying the the Imperium is worshipping a corpse.

I guess that's one of the things I like about the 40K universe: its full of so much ambiguity that you can do just about anything you want.  Of course, this also drives me nuts in that "canon" material tends to be pretty light.

AJC

I dont think killing the Emperor (or whatever) is the only way to advance the storyline. Technically the storyline advanced when the killed the squats. (sort of).

Maybe having a major event that actually affects part of the status quo, such as the Fourth C'Tan awaking on Mars or Chaos destroying Mordria or Armageddon or some other major world/well known world.

Perhaps a inquisition war or a minor Space Marine skirmish.

Maybe even have the Tau subjugate a few extra worlds near their Empire, giving them a new race of creatures for their forces and taking a world from the Imperium.

Or begin a storyline called The Year of Darkness, where the Golden Throne's power diminishes for a while and for one year all sort of stuff can happen where the Empire is crippled and when the lights come back on they have to reconquoer and survive.

Cop-out version:
Nothing happens. Who says the Emperor didn't really die years ago and the High Lords of Terra have been keeping it hushed up all this time? The Astronomicon has been switched over to an alternate source (don't ask me what, I'm spitballing here) and everything trundles along nicely and unchanged. Except the Imperium is now in the hands of the High Lords.

More fun version:
Finally free of his mortal prison, the Emperor's spirit is free to reincarnate into a new form. While this is happening the Imperium undergoes partial collapse due to the failing of the Astronomicon and such. Sectors fall under control of their immediate lords, planets break free, general mayhem unfolds for a few centuries.
Durring this time, the Emperor grows to adulthood again and begins reclaiming his Imperium, which has gone quite awry in the 10,000 years since he was 'conscious'.
Ineviatably the Ecclesiarchy will fracture into "Oh yes he is" and "Oh no he isn't" factions, some recognising the new Emperor, some convinced he's a fake. Civil War will swallow Terra and the Sol system.

Eventually the Emperor will triumph (c'mon, face it) and will start re-conquoring the fractured Imperium in a second Great Crusade. Any remaining Primarches (Russ? etc) will reappear, and maybe the Emperor will create a new family of Sons to lead new chapters of Space Marines. The Imperium will once again be at war, with itself, with Aliens, with chaos and with the armies of the New Imperium.

Add to this chaos the reawakening of the Void Dragon, the inevitable bid for power by Chaos and another Tyranid invasion.

Evilscary said:

The Void Dragon has a different role in all of this.

Trust me. The Emperor knows all about the C'Tan on Mars...

I won't say more, except this: Read Mechanicum by Graham McNiell. Best Heresy novel so far, IMO, and it sheds so much light on this subject...

N0-1_H3r3 said:

Was going to say this myself if no one else had. Mechanicum sheds a *lot* of light on the situation with the Dragon

Thanks for this - hadn't picked that book up yet.

AJC

Luddite said:

Warp travel will become inexplicably hazzardous, perhaps to the point of the Imperium eventually collapsing. The Ecclesiarchy will continue to preach as they always have, the death of the Emperor will be known only to the High Lords of Terra and the most senior Adeptus Custodes who "shields" the mindless masses from the realization that their god is (was, that is) mortal.

Perhaps the Astronomican can even function to some degree without the Emperor's knowledge and nothing will really happen. Maybe it has already happened. ;)

Slaunyeh said:

Good point - perhaps this might lead to going after the Tau for their space flight technology?  Great way to integrate Rogue Traders into a campaign.

AJC

Here's a fun theory for you (not necessarily my take per se, just a fun idea):

the emperor - the man who formed the Imperium, who led the great crusade, the most powerful psyker humanity ever produced has been dead for ten millenia. 

The Emperor - the guiding entity who controls the astronomicon, grants divine power to Saints and Sisters, and watches over mankind lives. 

The idea being that the emperor was never a god, however the combined belief in him and psychic potential of humanity as a whole gave birth to a god in his image.  (This is not to say that The Emperor (deity) is not real is some figment of the imagination, under this postulate he is a real and powerful deific entity, but was never a mortal human, instead was created and empowered by the collective mind, faith and will of humans)

If the mass hedonistic depravity of the eldar (a psychically active race) can create a god (Slaanesh) then why not the power of the mass belief of humanity (another psychically active race)?  The eldar are are far more psychically active on average, but humanity is far, far more populous than the Eldar ever were even at their height.  Also, belief in the Emperor as god grew over milennia, gradually, which would explain how The Emperor(deity) could come to be without ripping open another Eye of Terror.

As such the failure of the Golden Throne will only weaken The Emperor(deity) if the it somehow weakens the belief of the masses in his power. 

Then again, what if the Golden throne was never anything more than an elaborate prop that didn't really do anything?  That would mean that it is not the Golden Throne which is failing, but rather the faith and will of humanity.

How does that idea strike you?

Very nice indeed.

AJC