This has been long asked for, so hopefully I have done them their dues. This month has been crazy busy so if you enjoyed this one please do hit the LIKE - interested to hear everyones own opinions about the origins as to the Legion of the Damned. Think thats all I've got for this month?? YOUR WRONG - ANOTHER full vid coming this weekend.
great video But I wanna ask what is connection between Tzeentch and Emperor especially due to foresight and clock ⏰ of Doom for mankind. They both seem too much obsessed with Eagles, always planning, deceiving. and Which one actually is self destructive schizophrenic Fishy Pisces Or Eagle I should?
I love the mystery and idea behind the LoTD. I had one of the first legit armies of theirs ( maybe it was the 2nd version/edition tbh from the late 90s/early 2000s). Of course I augmented them slightly and created my own version of them with backstories and different abilities. Basically My theory was that there were a couple legions, each similar to one of the 4 choas gods, but non evil and therefore somewhat anathema to chaos. Great vid!
The Legion of the Damned feels to me like a more sinister version of living saints, not fuelled by faith but by penitence for past misdeeds, quite a fascinating group.
Penitence for past misdeeds? Perhaps simply the desire for vengeance for the greatest of betrayals. Or both. The warp manifests itself differently depending on your perspective...
The Legion of the Damned always struck me as the souls of dead traitors who in their final moments pleaded to the emperor for forgiveness, and thus they are given one last chance to serve the imperium and repent their sins in the fires of war.
See, we have about the same idea. The ones who are picked out by the Legion of the Damned are those who can help reinforce the faith of the damned. The idea of them appearing when humanity needs them the most, it's a payment of the debt they feel, but at the same time, they say the debt is rising, they need more people as souls are finally finding redemption and peace, being slain in battle or released by the Emperor. The other potential idea are the children of the Emperor who's primarchs were deleted/redacted/forbidden to be spoken of. They hold the debt that one day, the two who were deleted would be reinstated.
Yagreed!...unless this was part of HIS plan! Maybe the EMPEROR wanted grieving hosts who longed for redemption, and "Redemption" is a powerful feeling when you feel it! Legion of the Damned need some love, GW! Please choose the right writer's who actually give a fek
That would explain one detail many people overlook : how does the legion know when and where they are needed ? Big E is one of the very few who could get that info to them in time.
I like the theory that the legion of the damned are the Emperors equivalent of “warp daemons” since the emperor has a strong connection to the warp and can’t exactly move about, he projects his will through the warp to aid his imperium when needed
This has always been my favourite theory. I think the idea that the Emperor is basically a Chaos god, becoming what he so desperately wanted to destroy because humanity cant help but worship something, brings a level of tragedy to the Emperor's failings that I find interesting. Also as for Centurius I think that he could be the Legion's version of a daemon prince, a mortal ascended to daemonhood by the will of the Emperor.
You know the rules of the warp "Always and never" If they believe him a god, the righteous zeal and fanatical faith, he will become one - and if he does, then he always has been The legion of the damned go back to even before the emperor, they are certainly chaos entities, but they don't reap indiscriminate death Certainly feels like the Emperor will become a chaos god somepoint soon after the 41st millenium
@@rubbykibress7808 It would also be poetic as he made a Devils bargain with the warp gods to pursue his plan of galactic conquest. I just finished thousand sons and this just seems right.
Maybe the emperor is completely hollowed out and he's stuck in the wrlarp untill his physical body is destroyed and he's saving Astartes trapped in the warp and using them to tip key battles for humanity in his favour.
My personal theory: They are one of the lost legions. The second or eleventh legion having been twisted and altered by the warp. That would explain why the emperor didn't want anyone to remember them, because he didn't want anyone to understand the warp. Having a literal warp legion kinda goes against the emperor's ideals.
that reminds me of FFX, the whole world following an anti-technology religion and the big temple of that religion in Bevelle is purely high tech. once beyond the door that normal people are never allowed to pass.
Can you imagine these badasses showing up at the end of Space Marine 2 during a moment where Titus is making a final stand against a tryanid horde with his brothers? Gives me shivers just thinking about it.
I mean that would be an awesome way of bringing them back. At the end he's fighting alone against a Horde to give the last survivor's a chance to escape, then they show up to save him and recruit him into their ranks.
@Flare The astarties are already cheap godmode because of the plot armor, hence why "hand wave" everyone's Primaris now! And that's without counting the custodians, which are LITERALLY godmode space marines basically, and are now actively joining the war.
Not sure I'd introduce them into Titus's story, but I'd definitely love to see them return in the on-line multiplayer. Maybe even expand on them. In the first game they were locked into Aquila Pattern power armour and carried standard war gear. But I know they also wear Corvus Pattern and some LOTD specific weapons (skulls and bones on the weapons etc) would be very cool. AND habits for my Dark Angels! 😅
@Flare It's a problem of scale. You need to read more stories involving normal people like Guardsmen, or go look at the opening of Space Marine 2. There's a reason why they're called the Emperor's Angels. There's a reason why their transformation proccess is so convulted. There's a reasron why a single chaos marine will make an entire Guard force say their last prayers. When you really zero down on Astartes, they are fucking stupid biologically and mentally, then are given equally stupidly op equipment like power armor, and that just got leveled up now that everyone and their mother is a primaris. There is a reason why the custodians arer basically perfected space marines and are a terrifying force, why primacrchs are massive world-changing forces and have become daemon princes, and why chaos even went for them in the first place. Look at some of the deadliest 'hammers' in the imperium--Grey Knights, legion of the damned, Deathwatch. They are effectively angels fighting a supernatural far above the more mundane battles of cultists, soldiers, basic aliens, mutants, etc. So yes, they're not immortal--not even immortal things in 40k are unstoppable apparently--but they are definitely godlike.
In a galaxy of Xenos and demons and other warp horrors, there's something especially cool about having, what is essentially a ghost story in the Legion of the Damned.
Legion of the Damned came about because Andy Chambers painted some marines with flames and said, 'Hey these sure look cool.' and Jervis Johnson was like, 'sure let's make them a thing!'
If I recall, he was pretty much deep in the Thirst at that point and scarcely a step off the Black Rage. He was hallucinating pretty badly in general, so he might have simply assumed he was losing it. I would have to read through it again.
@@kasimmorathi Essentially exactly what happens, at that point he'd hallucinated the Sanguinor a multitude of times, and is kind of at a loss when both the Sanguinor and the legion of the damned do appear. Line of page 340 reads: "The Legion of the Damned had come to aid the sons of Sanguinius in their hour of need. Dante blinked, but this vision did not disappear."
Would depress me as I’m totally seeing parallels to the “establishment-power structure” of OUR today’s (Globalist-mindset!) Edit:Holy-Sheet! Ghost Rider as a necromancer?! Yea DEATH IT’s Self in physical form!
Glad he is well. He puts a lot of effort into his videos, and he keeps himself out of them. Like Wolflord Rho. I have nothing against the guy, but the dude with the swoosh blonde hair, and bandana. I can't watch him. Again I have nothing bad to say of the guy. His hair just rubs me the wrong way. And I have a headfull of blonde hair myself. I just can't see past it. A failure on my part. But as I said I am glad he is doing well. These guys keep the hobby rolling.
I really like the Imperial rage demon theory. “Only in death does duty end. And even in death I serve.” marines that die with un resolved rage, or with such will they they refuse to stop. But I also really like the time travel theory, that they are from a future so grim and forsaken that the Ordo Chronus is actively sending Astartes back to pivotal moments. The time travel through the Warp is so harsh it burns away most of their little remaining humanity and makes them nigh unstoppable beings, but at a cost. Once their battle is won, and Time set to right, they vanish because they no longer exist. They erase themselves from reality. Though that may just be me really loving heroic sacrifices like that.
Perdition's Flame is a short "horror" story that briefly touches on the Inquisition's attempt to "contain" a captured member of the Legion of the Damned. Worth a listen.
That story is what lead me here. New to 40k lore(recently found they help me relax). The legion of the damned has caught my attention more than anything. Orcs are up there too, but still lol.
The second theory is my preferred, as the Emperor summoned the ten thousand to turn the tide of an otherwise inevitable defeat. Being the emperor’s psychic will made manifest but only in the most dire and vital of battles, as when they were first summoned. With the Centurion lore, it can make sense that over time the legion gained some additional souls from those that meet the standard sought by the emperor when he summoned them.
I agree with that. This makes centurius even more interesting, as it could be the echo of the emperors call that resurrected him to keep up the damned legions work so far after.
I believe that the legion of the damned when I became what it is now, was not only made up of the loyalists from the dropsite massacre, but also of the loyalists from the atrocity aswell because who else would want revenge more than those betrayed by their own legion and friends.
They could have also then picked up the remnants of the Firehawk's into their ranks, could fit the established lore while being like ' we never said the Firehawks were the beginning of the Legion.'
The Legion of the Damned 'predates' the emperor of mankind So it's not his physical will, but if he is destined to become a chaos god, then time means nothing to him, and he could send his daemons back, back to before his material birth
there was an inquisitor of the ordo chronos which had a legion of the damned detained in a book called 'perditions flame', it is part of the warhammer horror series and we know it is one of them by the complete match of the description and the fact that the man telling us the story had to keep repeating the story to us to remember the event and not forget it
I like the idea that the legion of the dammed are effectively the daemons of the emperor. Much as the chaos gods have their daemons, the emperors will within the warp has his own as well.
Tbf; the king in yellow has his army of "grails" - warp entities and daemons that are not chaos aligned, do not serve the imperium, and aren't created by the emporer (saints)
My favorite theory of their origin is that these are the space marines, who fell in battle against traitors on Istvaan III. I don't know how probable that is but I like it 😁
Absolutely agree, I would add to that theory that generally those space marines who where killed as a result of betrayal join their ranks, kept in service by the will of the emperor so they can avenge their own death
3 1/2 years sober today. The initial hump of getting over the withdraws I watched Luetin09 so I could take my mind of the pain. Still going sstrong. Thanks Brother...
Fell on hard times, audible actually allows us to keep our membership, but just freeze billing for a few cycles (like through holidays for me) this was a really good touch. Thought I would mention it. Discovered my love for Audible from this channel.
I personally like the idea that the Legion belonged to one (or a combination of both) of the lost Primarchs. The use of the word "legion" here would track. I like to think that despite whatever drove the two unknown Primarchs to their dooms, the souls of their lost Legions were restless in the Warp, and after the Emperor was interred into the Golden Throne, he offered them deliverance and replenishment via the souls of others if they would once again serve his will in the most critical of moments.
ab-so-lutely, i got almost excited when i thought in the same direction. Sorry that i have to spam your post for this but i got so inspired i had to put it here :D The prodigal son of the Emperor was to be punished for his resistance to the Emperor's vision with the expulsion and destruction of his legion to destroy the gene seed. But instead, the Primarch offered his head, offering that his death would more than make up for his actions in saving his legion. Attica Centurius, the Primarch's right-hand man, begs the Emperor not to listen to his son's words. But the Emperor refuses to disregard the wishes of his cursed child. His son's last words were, "Give them the task I could not fulfill," as his father's sword came down. When the emperor realized that his son had understood that in the last moment of his life he had placed himself entirely at the service of humanity by sacrificing his life for the imperial truth, he collapsed in pain. His heart burned at the sight of his child's legion that had abandoned him. With a flaming gaze, he strode toward Atticus, showing him with a glance that she had failed in her task, and with a cry that contained all his pain and grief at his failure, the Emperor plunged the Executioner's blade into the ground. A firestorm of psionic violence engulfed the remains of his son, his kneeling Legion, the entire planet, leaving nothing but ashes. Since that day, the Legion has stood by the Empire whenever it is but a sword stroke away from destruction. Burning in the flames of penance, the Legion of the Damned does not atone for the guilt of its Primarch. It atones for the guilt of the Emperor.
"So does it make sense that the Legion of the Damned are Time-Warriors _attempting_ _to_ _set_ _right_ _what_ _once_ _went_ _wrong._ _Hoping_ _in_ _each_ appearance, _this_ _one_ _is_ _going_ _to_ _be_ _the_ _one_ _to_ _get_ _them_ _home._ " Luten ~ _(in_ _italics_ _Luten_ _quoting_ Quantum Leap _intro)_ Time Stamp 1:05:00 I LOVE the niche reference, the cheesy wholesomeness of Quantum Leap makes it clear inserting its "good is predestined to triumph over evil because of time travel" is not appropriate for Warhammer 40,000
We seriously need new Legion of the Damned models! They look so badass and have some interesting lore implications such as them maybe being Imperial Daemons....
The word daemon is very specifically used with beings of the warp/under the influence or control of the chaos gods. I know the community speaks alot about imperial or non chaos God "daemons." But to me it sounds silly. And it's become an over simplification for anything of a higher power within the 40k universe.
@@Merovinjian If the Eldar can murder fuck a God into being, then why couldn't the trillions of imperial citizens pray one into existence? Add to that the Emperor being kept alive by literal sacrifices, and his psychic presence in the warp fighting Chaos...I see it as entirely possible that they're somehow imperial daemons.
@@Merovinjian Yes.. the word demon is used that way and it's also exactly what would describe the legion of the damned. Beings of the warp. Under the influence or control of a chaos god. Remeber that chaos doesn't mean just slaneesh, nurgle, khorne and tzeentch. It means ALL beings that exist in the warp. Good and bad. All in the warp is chaos. The emperor as a godlike presence in the warp absolutely fits the description of a chaos god.
@@michaeloxlong You're right. The Eldar created Slaanesh so why couldn't humanity pray literal Angels of Death into existance? Granted,Humans aren't as Warp Attuned as The Eldar but untold trillions of humans believing in something may have a shot..
The end credit with the music swelling and evocative images of imperial glory gets me rock hard everytime..for the Emperor of course. Seen so many and still gets me pumped up
I loved the story where one was captured and being transported by the inquisition. The story does throw most theories away. Where the Inquisition is using psykers as batteries to keep it imprisoned but the ship is experiencing ghosts of dead marines as a consequence, with wrap based foolery going on. Which leans on the theory that theyre space marines, that have died with their souls given form in the wrap. But also leans on that theyre the emperors deamons.
I wrote a short story about the Legion. The implications I used were that they're a psychic manifestation of dead Astartes. Astartes dying in a state of betrayal or a thirst for vengeance. I even included the legionnaires selecting recently dead Astartes to join their ranks. A legion of vengeance. I also included a very large legionnair, headless, carrying a large skull upon his chest plate.
@@bobloerakker7010 well guns and roses put it this way. and i have a sneaky suspicion slaanesh like that way as well... ''If you want it you're going to bleed, but it's the price you pay And you're a very sexy girl, it's very hard to please You can taste the bright lights, but you won't get there for free'' ''Feel my, my, my, my serpentine Oh, ah, I wanna hear you scream'' ''In the jungle, welcome to the jungle Watch it bring you to your shun-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n, knees, knees Mwah, I wanna watch you bleed'' ''You know where you are? You're in the jungle, baby You're gonna die'' this has lucious lucius the eternal written all over it. slaanesh is happy for a moment.. and that dark eldar got what she deserved.
@@redsampler2017 I think when humans are pulled into the webway, to be made into furniture. They got what they deserved. I curse anyone who praises that tyrant of an emporer. One day you munki and your imperium will burn. Then all of you will be know true pain. Until then Keep sacrificing your 10000 psychers a day and enjoy your corpse starch.
I always liked the idea that if Living Saints are like Deamon Princes for the Star Child, the Legion is the equivalent of demons. Yeah the rules for them merely rhyme with other demons, but it's also been shown that manifestations of the Emperor's Will can appear in situations where the Warp should not be present. Clearly the mechanisms of the Star Child's power is not the same as the Chaos Gods. Maybe it all operates on some Other dimension than the Materium or Warp, similar to how Gork and Mork aren't in the Warp or (presumably) Webway
Legion of the damned have also appeared where the warp is actively weakened in some instances. I can't find it though I do remember seeing a short lore snippet of the legion appearing to fight the tyranids. They were also forced from reality when the Cadian Pylons were activated during the fall of Cadia, Celestine herself appeared to also be weakened by the event
I tend to subscribe to the Istvaan theory. Imagine all the feelings of hurt, betrayal and anger consolidated in the warp by that much death and the mental scars of the death of Ferus Manus. Pair thst with the superhuman fanaticism of loyalist marines and I can see those feelings being made solid in the warp. So much so that they even develop their own recruitment strategy and signature fighting style and strategy.
When they first appeared their rules were INSANE. 2 up invuln save (only took damage on a 1) and a 2 up accuracy (only missed on a 1) for THE ENTIRE ARMY was cray cray. I mean, yeah, they were like 100 points per marine but that still meant you had 20 nigh un-killable men that could hold points. Never mind the rule that playing them could force upon the game which made it so the game would ignore capture points and instead only kills mattered.
Since the legion of the damned have no true canonical origin Imma say that the reason the lamenters die so often is because each time one of them does die they join the legion of the damned. Kinda like how some daemons of nurgle transform into different daemons but instead of hatred the lamenters transform by their sacrifice.
Been thinking the same myself, for as long as I've followed this channel. The production quality is just sooo good. The use of sounds and tunes is so exquisitely implemented in the right spots, that it really feels like a journey whenever you embark on these long format lore-sessions. I just absolutely love it.
Oh I absolutely LOVE these guys !!!! Imagine the soul of every dead Astartes being given one....last.... chance to serve the God Emperor. As a wreathed in fire daemon for the good of Humanity.
@@admiraltiberius1989 Agreed. Untill proven wrong, i also believe that they are loyalist daemons. Maybe next year GW can expand their lore within the Universo. Would be a treat.
@@admiraltiberius1989 I agree with the daemon theory, but think lesser daemons.. I lean towards the Emperor making a new legion or recovering a lost legion from the warp. If every dead space marine was made into a member of LotD, Chaos wouldn't have gained ground as much as we have seen with the Black Crusades. The LotD has to be very limited in number, otherwise they would have showed up in the Eye of Terror en masse to wipe out the traitor legions.
In the ultramarines novel the chapters due urial encounters the legion of the damned in an ultramarines tomb on calth, it is heavily implied that the legionaries are heresy era ultramarines, and also in the novel master of mankind it is also suggested that a legion of spectral space marines fight the demons in web way contained in a wall of flame as the emperor walks to fight the demon, led by what is implied to be ferrus manus
@@CloudianMH They were created as a one squad release back in 2nd edition. You could just buy them as the box set and they weren't a full legion at the time.
Wow, you are cranking them out lately!! Thanks man, can't express how much your videos help me relax/fall asleep. And let's be real, without sleep, life is awful.
Honestly the coolest legion in my opinion. For them even in death they still serve zombie astartes. Maybe the FH as they were dying in the warp came into contact with the legion and were saved by them in exchange for becoming members. Imagine they’d jump at the chance
An astartes joining this legion to avoid the horrors of his soul going to *insert any chaos domain* seems an easy choice to make, especially if you were killed by a slaneshi demon
They were Flame Falcons, all the evidence given and even GW used LOTD images to decipt the Flame Falcons in their official website (check from wayback machine). They had the grace (for some other reason i believe) and purged with indignity. Legion Of The Damned is a requiem for this event.
I like the theory that because of the golden throne and the emperor being worshipped as a god he's become something akin to a chaos god and the legion of the damned are his demons or something similar since they are of the warp. It would also explain how they can just teleport wherever and to these very crucial battles at the right time like the emperor himself is sending them there.
They share striking similarities in appearance and fighting tactics with the sons of malice. Food for thought. For example "the legendary doomed ones", "fighting in complete silence". Emperor is probably Malice.
I really enjoyed this one. I remember the Legion being released and extended discussions as to their nature with my fellow 40k geek, as it wasn't quite the hobby powerhouse it is today. The release of the Legion coincided with a small Spacewolves campaign book which mentioned the disappearance of a portion of the chapter into the warp, and I always liked the idea that it was them. I like the theory that they are essentially Daemons, having been twisted into immortality, unable to return to the Emperor by their own nature, they exist outside time, like other creatures in the warp may do and that their timeliness is not due to being able to perceive the future, but having already done it in their own past.
Hey Luetin thank you for your hard work I knew nothing about 40k a year ago now I’m a full fledge imperial fan boy and obsessed with the story lines in large part do to your videos thanks again bro, For the imperium!!!!
Another theory: Tzeentch knows that humans souls/emotions are required to fuel the warp, and sends demons in the rough guise of Astartes to critical battles in order to keep the great game going
When it comes to the legion of the damned when it says, "they became the legion of the damned" (the firehawks), they did not create it, but where recruited into what you called the "proto legion" in the same way The captain was. The half died after the re-emergence where those who were not fit. This was my take. If there is more evidence I would like to know more
Well... as cool as 40k is.. the world is full of so many cool things to do and explore, there is soooo much to learn and practice.. holy shit, if you're burned out with 40k just give some of your time to something you're (pun intended) on fire for!
110% best outro music flow luetin!! 1:11:23 literally made my jaw drop! The volume dynamic, the impact of the chords slamming you like a bolt round to the cerebellum! YES
What if they are one of the 2 lost primarchs legions and one of them were "lost" or erased on purpose by the emporer and used as his get out of jail free card? Or they were erased for using the warp (which explains why everyone forgets them) against the emporers will and were remorseful of their disobedience? As penance they use their knowledge of the warp to serve the emporer as his black ops unit, the emporer using his godlike foresight sending them into what would be important battles that would have been a defeat to change the future in mankind's favor.
The consistency of your uploads truly amaze and fills me with joy because it's always a pleasant surprise to get more lore to delve into. May the god emperor's light always shine on your path to knowledge
I would love some more books on these guys! I feel like you could have a real plot arc that could tie the emperor to events happening in real time and the warp with these as his personal legion. I love the idea of the legion being the risen of Istavan, at least, originally, and then being bolstered by the fire hawks as well. I look forward to the black library expanding their lore!
I always wondered if the legion of the damned was the thunder warriors having been sacrificed at that mountain in battle, would relive on and grow with every fallen loyal space marine after. That loyalty to the emperor is like a beacon to these ghostrider looking mofos.
Personally i like arches theory about the legion ofthe damned. It goes like this: The emperor at this point is for all intents and purposes a minor chaos god. Probably still tethered to some extent to his mortal shell but his psychic mind is fully in the warp. And his mind is constantly empowered by the the sacrifice of psychers at the astronomicon as well as the faith of the innumerable humans within the imperium. And just like any chaos god the emperor has his own demons. And that is the legion of the damned. As with all demons their physical appearance is largely based on what the people perceiving them believe them to look like. Thus the legion of the damned would obviously appear like the emperors avenging angels, the space marines.
With the information regarding Attica Centurius, I believe that the Legion of the Damned is a force that is a much more brutal manifestation of the souls of the Imperium's most devout warriors who are tasked with exacting eternal vengeance on the enemies of man
Hoped for this episode and it was finally delivered. Thank You. /btw. I find it very interesting that on Malcador's graphic art when he sits on a throne symbols II and XI are highlithed. I personally think that Legion of the Damned might be simply lost Legion (II or XI) that went ahead of themselfs and lost their way inside the warp millenia ago or... were simply "designed" by the Emperor to act as Legion that operates inside the warp.
I think they are like what I think the other warp creatures are. They can see everything across all time, and interject to maintain the causal flow. I think they are within the warp, but not of it. One of my most loved 40k lore.
This might be one of those occasions where the entitity would be a lot more interesting if they stopped adding to it - just having a ghostly legion that sometimes helps out for whatever reason is a lot more interesting to me than a guy talking about a debt of souls and converting some of them, the original myth feels better when there's absolutely no dialogue imo
Here's the most important thing to keep in mind when looking at warhammer lore in general, and "obscure" (ie not very expanded) lore in particular: It's often a story written without any great plans by someone, and expanded uppon by someone else, and someone else and someone else and each of them will use the "but this is just myth and speculation" both to keep the story as malleable and easily connected to the previous link in that chain, but also to keep the cool "spooky mystery" that 40k love to cultivate. This is especially true for older lore. To understand what that lore really mean, you have to try to understand what each author wanted to say. In the case of the legion of the damned it started with a very straight forward and clear explanation: The legion of the damned is the remnant of the fire hawk that got lost in the warp, contaminated by warp AIDS (or the non nurgle variety) that ended up making them all super strong, resilient and also bound to the warp (a bit like how Kaldor is), but they are also all dying of that AIDS, slowly but surely. Another perk of their warpish state is that they can use the emperor tarot perfectly to predict where they need to be, and can just manifest there. That was a cute story written for what was basically meant to be a small (couple of squad) groupe of individual. Then the story got picked up again and as with everything cool, the goal was to retcon the part that made them a very small and soon to be extinct group to make them a more permanent thing, so they added the idea that some other marines could be turned into legionaries. From there they kept popping up from time to time when a writer wanted a cool deus ex machina to save the day in a ghostly fashion. Fast forward a couple of decades later and their identity was started to be mostly reduced as "warp ghost/imperial daemon marines", most if not all trace of the original concept of that small group of actual living but cursed human was gone. I'm pretty sure GW will at some point bring them back in a spectacular fashion on the table top, not as a unite that you could just slap into all of your imperial armies (this concept has been thankfully abandoned recently) but as a full (but condensed) faction on its own, AoS (or Thousand Sons) Style: 1 troop, 1 Elite (terminator legionary anyone?), a dreadnought, and too many HQ (and a token new HQ for each next edition to pretend they are supporting that range). When that happen, they'll rewrite the lore for them and you'll have a couple of option: 1) They try to pull the "nostalgia" card and have them be once again cursed living marines. 2) Go full on Ao and have them be completely ghosts that may or may not grow in number by picking up the souls of fallen astartes heroes 3) They are actual Imperial Daemon born from the devotion of quadrillion of human souls (would make a lot of sens but aint gona happen). 4) "Their origin is dark and mysterious" Whatever they chose to do, it will more than likely totally replace any of the current poorly maintained lore and I wouldn't be surprised if Santurius ended up heavily retconned. If I had to guess, by looking at GW current writing style, I'd bet they'll pick the 2nd option and have them be a host of warp ghost elevating the souls of fallen heroes into immortal ghost warriors. Hell, they may even pick up that random stupid glimps in Master of Mankind where the Emperor manifested a flaming ghost of Ferus Manus to cook some daemons, and have him be the origin of the legion and their leader. That scene was obviously meant to simply be a psichic attack from the Emperor and nothing more, but we are living in the Age of Guilliman era so it would fit with their current pretty dumb writing.
Part of me thinks that the legion of the damned are astartes that fell in battle but through sheer power of will, their souls refused to depart, and now they appear to continue exacting swift vengeance. "For only in death, does duty end. And even in death, i will serve."
The meaning of "focus" is to devote all your attention to one task without being interrupted by other tasks. Listening to a video while you work is by definition the opposite of focus. Just saying..
@@earlgrey2130 Focus can also be designated as the centre of attention. So he can listen to this video in the background and can still be considered focused on his work.
@@earlgrey2130 Boooooooooooo! Of all the things you could choose to comment on and that's the one? Wat? Like what you're talking about sounds like obsession and fixation not focus
My head canon is that the legion of the damned is the culled mysterious 2nd (or 11th) legion. I think that the 2nd legion was genetically made to be more attuned to the warp and maybe even made aware of the chaos gods. More like early versions of the grey knights. When the 2nd legion primarch was found, maybe his warp-attuned abilities allowed him to find the chaos gods earlier on and get corrupted, because he was scattered like the rest of the primarchs by the chaos gods and unable to get his father's guidance about chaos. So the Emperor had the primarch killed and his legion as well out of association, even if they were loyal and uncorrupted. This probably convinced the emperor to hide the truth of chaos from the other primarchs and legions. But since the 2nd legion that was killed was warp-attuned, they live on as the legion of the damned, wanting to be loyal to the emperor. Serving a penance for their failed primarch. This would explain why they're called a legion and legionnaires. Keep in mind this is all my head canon, but I feel this is an interesting avenue of approach and there can be so many other ideas to build off of this.
It's been confirmed via Malcador the Sigilite that the 2nd and 11th legionnaries were all mindwiped and intergrated into the 7th (Fists) and 13th (Ultra) respectively. This is futher supported that those two legions each had a sudden surge of brothers with no real answer as to where they come from. (Please don't ask me to remember which lore video I heard this from...) The reasoning that Malcador gave was that the "flaw" with the 2nd and 11th laid soley with it's primarchs and that it's legions could still be useful. It's entirely possible that is a potential source for "homeless" chapters such as the Blood Ravens.
That was a fascinating one, LT. Unfortunately it leaves us with almost as many questions as answers lol I like to think of them as Emps' own "demon force" which will become more active the nearer Emps' gets to Godhood.
As I've commented in the past, I'm not the most well read on 40K lore, but I do enjoy theorising anyway, and so listening to the vid, I had a little moment of inspiration. During the description of the Legion of the Dammed Luetin talks about no-one having any idea who they are, there's no record of their origins and when there are recording systems nearby, they go haywire or break down, almost as if a higher power is expunging any records of the legion. And this made me think, what if the Legion of the Dammed is a remnant of one of the Missing Legions; the II and XI. I know IRL they exist for players to create a 'personal' legion, but in-lore, they are just missing. No record, no imagery, nothing. Any record removed from existence and speaking of them is basically heresy, ensuring the Legion can never be corrupted; because how can Choas corrupt what it cannot find. What if one of the two was sent into another realm, or even the warp itself, by the Emperor to be a last ditch defence; the last bastion which appears at the direst of moments. Over the millennia the legion, or a remnant of, has been transformed into this near-immortal force that is directed by the Emperor's will, or the Legion's Primarch, hence the lack of predictability. It would fill in the hole of the Fire Hawks; the trigger for the Legion to begin operations is the discovery and absorption of the Fire Hawks astartes into its numbers, and to keep the identity of the Legion a secret as it ever has been, they adopt things like the Fire Hawks moto and the fire iconography into the otherwise un-marked black armour. The Fire Hawks tactics fit fairly well; they apply overwhelming force without being reckless and duty to the protection of the Imperium, just as the Legion of the Dammed do, but the origins of the Dammed and their current nature override the need for self-preservation of the Fire Hawks. The idea of one of the Lost Legions, sent into the void by the Emperor to await the moment of need, maintaining a status of absolute anonymity and secrecy, waiting for its call to return by the arrival of a flawed but bellicose legion with a sense of duty to the Emperor beyond doubt feels like it fits together. As I say, I'm not a 40K lore expert so I may have left some huge, glaring holes but I enjoyed the thought-experiment and nothing I heard here suggested it couldn't function as a theory.
Great video as always, Luetin. I only discovered Warhammer 40k after I discovered Warhammer Fantasy, which I discovered through Total War: Warhammer. Anyway, you brought up a good topic for another video in this one. A video about Be'lakor, the first Daemon Prince, or really Daemon Princes in general, would be a good topic for a video in the future.
i really like the theory of the Legion of the Damned being sort of ''imperial demons'', a manifestation of the Emperors wrath, the tortured and betrayed souls of the dead of Istvaan .....or one of the 2 legions, the purged and the forgotten, maybe lost in a warp storm or sent into the eye as penance for past crimes only to swallowed by the warp and ''rediscovered'' by the emperor after being put on the throne
I'm not sure how it works, but I would love the audio from these long form videos to be accessible on audible to listen to while working or painting without having to worry about TH-cam remaining on. Great lore dive as always.
So many of the units in warhammer 40k are just mind blowing. Previous favourite was the death company because of their unrivalled lunacy. I think legion of the damned take first place now. Awesome video.
Aye. I started as a Dark Angels fanboy back when they were black and red and had only just showed up in the original Space Hulk board game (which I have) and pages of White Dwarf, but over the years my fondness for other chapters has grown along with the body’s of fiction for them. Now, despite my initial loathing of yellow, I find myself a genuine fan of Dorn and his stubborn lads. It’s nice how the IP has lasted so long that we have entire libraries of lore, themes, and characters to embrace.
Legion of the damned! Spoooooky! Since we're talking about the damned, you should do a video on the Imperium's greatest victories! Teach these Heretics about the strength of man!
Rewatching this, I missed that you mentioned Primer during the segment on time travel last time. It is the best time travel movie, and probably the only one that does it in a consistent way.
I listen to your videos every night when I’m in bed, learning all I can. If I fall asleep during one video, I will listen the next day to what I missed. Last night I was listening to this one and fell asleep but woke up around 1:11:12 and BOY did that get me hyped!! So damn cool! Woke me right up and I had to rewind and listen from where I left off! I’d never heard of this legion before but wow! I’m new to warhammer but love the lore and absolutely LOVE your videos! Thank you so much for all the hard work and effort you put into these!
I've thought on this before and maybe the legion of the damned are one of the lost legions. Like all Primarchs and legions are a reflection or a facet of the Emperors personality. The legion of the damned are a legion that embodies the warp power facet of the Emperor.
A couple of thoughts: 1. Upon returning to Prospero after the detruction of the Thousand Sons, Ahriman witnesses a very similar psychic after image that conjures up the entire battle again. An after-image that can actually harm them. So the idea of the 'psychic resonance' from the Emperor might not be a strange one. (all of the marines are there, including apparitions of Russ and Magnus). 2. The Malcador's Staff-mission was the one standing out a bit: we know that the Emperor and Malcador were able to create the Titan-moon where the Grey Knights resided for a long time outside of real-space, so it's not a far stretch for me to think that - if a relic was found similar to that skull - they would try and harness it, even if heretical, to set it up like this. 3. That being said: this comparison goes further, when thinking of that short story about the Grey Knight found in his casket, who is able to come alive as a wraith/skull in his harness to complete their mission... (just saying...). 4. All of the above fits in with them replenishing their legion when finding some elite astartes during an encounter, who would otherwise be lost anyways. (like some 'Knight Errant', yep...) 5. We should also consider - still - that the Warp has not always been just this place of pure evil, so even though it would be considered heretical by the empire, it's quite possible that they found some part or relic that would allow them to make use of it for this legion, which would also explain their tally in the form of required souls. That's also the most obvious tell by the way, of this being connected to the Emperor/some elite group established by either him or Malcador. 6. And lastly - and I hate to do this to you - but the idea of the multiverse and timelines has already been breached: in Ahriman's story, where he tries to 'fix' his brothers who are suffering the flesh-change, he and his fellow psykers actually browse through all versions of the future, seeking to find one where the Thousand Sons are actually helped and saved. Interestingly and foreboding is the fact that they don't actually find one where their legion survives as is, but pick one that comes closest to it. (dum, dum, dum...) Considering the video and the above, it's paramount for this legion to stay invisible and pick their moments. As their origin might very well be deemed 'heretical'. After-thought: if the Emperor is residing somewhere in the materium/warp, and is still influencing reality through belief and followers, seeking to be reborn. Wouldn't that technically also make him a Chaos God?
one curious thing - maybe they percive time backwards ? - for eg our future is their past in essence they are passing us by in another direction - that is why they seem so random for us - because we cant observe their pattern properly - this would also explain their knowledge of things - from their perspective it already happened hence they know of it. Basically we know they are somewhat connected to the warp - and in the warp things do not work as we expect them to be - flow of time as well. This explains how they know what moments were at the tipping point in a manner of speaking they are travelling through time just constantly backwards.
I’m always interested in the Audible recommendations. The short story anthologies being a great jumping off point for 40k is also a really good suggestion. Also, Echoes of Eternity, the new Heresy/Siege of Terra novel was great, instantly one of my favorites. Thanks as always for the content! Always long form and never boring. I can’t say enough nice things without seeming weird or disingenuous lol. Great video.
A video about phantom space marines covered in skulls and ethereal fire called the Legion of the Damned. Very well timed with Halloween just around the corner :)
I always thought of them as the first steps of Imperium Daemons. Using a mortal soul bound by the Emperor’s power. Possible a reflection of the zingiest the Imperium, as well as that fractured aspect of the Emperors mind/soul.
I love the istvaan 3 design as that's boss but in a made up by myself idea I'd like the legion of the damned to be something to do with alpha legion as alpharius and omegon may have met the cabal who saw the heresy coming, giving the primarchs foresight of the future. so the legion of the damned are alpha legion that maybe made a mistake but still have foresight and work for the cabal and steer the path of time from the warp as obviously horus failed, throwing the galaxy into turmoil. Something like that. Sorry I've had a few beers 🍺
My theory: They are remnants of the II. and XI. legions (sons of the Lost Primarchs) that still fight for the Imperium but with a slightly bitter taste. That's why they are pretty much grimmdark even by WH40k standards like taking debt in souls, ripping it from loyalists to "recruit" them and have a slight superiority complex. Regular imperial forces: *Struggle to defend something Legion of the Damned: *eyeroll.. "Fine.. fine... we'll show you how it's done"
Such a cool faction, it's a shame they likely won't be revised for 9th edition and onward especially since they seem like an awesome counter balance to the Grey Knights.
What if the Legion of the Damnned is actually a Tzinch chaotic warband. Their objectives are vague and could take years to figure out, and they can affect what people remember. After a while, a vicious attack by the LoD can be perceived as a rescue by its victims.
![THE GREY KNIGHTS [Part 1] - WARHAMMER 40,000 Lore / History](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/8jdPZR63sx8/mqdefault.jpg)
This has been long asked for, so hopefully I have done them their dues. This month has been crazy busy so if you enjoyed this one please do hit the LIKE - interested to hear everyones own opinions about the origins as to the Legion of the Damned. Think thats all I've got for this month?? YOUR WRONG - ANOTHER full vid coming this weekend.
luetin09 can you do ork clans, gretchen and snotlings, squigs, eldar aspect warriors and phoenix kings, and abhumans please
YES THANKYOU!!!!!!
Custodes next?
great video But I wanna ask what is connection between Tzeentch and Emperor especially due to foresight and clock ⏰ of Doom for mankind.
They both seem too much obsessed with Eagles, always planning, deceiving.
and Which one actually is self destructive schizophrenic Fishy Pisces Or Eagle I should?
I love the mystery and idea behind the LoTD. I had one of the first legit armies of theirs ( maybe it was the 2nd version/edition tbh from the late 90s/early 2000s). Of course I augmented them slightly and created my own version of them with backstories and different abilities. Basically My theory was that there were a couple legions, each similar to one of the 4 choas gods, but non evil and therefore somewhat anathema to chaos. Great vid!
The Legion of the Damned feels to me like a more sinister version of living saints, not fuelled by faith but by penitence for past misdeeds, quite a fascinating group.
The Flying Dutchman of 40K
They're daemons and living saints are daemon princes.
Like the ghost warriors from lotr
@@tatsuvoid in many ways the warp is a mirror image of reality
Penitence for past misdeeds? Perhaps simply the desire for vengeance for the greatest of betrayals. Or both. The warp manifests itself differently depending on your perspective...
The Legion of the Damned always struck me as the souls of dead traitors who in their final moments pleaded to the emperor for forgiveness, and thus they are given one last chance to serve the imperium and repent their sins in the fires of war.
See, we have about the same idea. The ones who are picked out by the Legion of the Damned are those who can help reinforce the faith of the damned.
The idea of them appearing when humanity needs them the most, it's a payment of the debt they feel, but at the same time, they say the debt is rising, they need more people as souls are finally finding redemption and peace, being slain in battle or released by the Emperor.
The other potential idea are the children of the Emperor who's primarchs were deleted/redacted/forbidden to be spoken of. They hold the debt that one day, the two who were deleted would be reinstated.
I like that theory
It’s basic theology tbh
Yagreed!...unless this was part of HIS plan! Maybe the EMPEROR wanted grieving hosts who longed for redemption, and "Redemption" is a powerful feeling when you feel it! Legion of the Damned need some love, GW! Please choose the right writer's who actually give a fek
That would explain one detail many people overlook : how does the legion know when and where they are needed ? Big E is one of the very few who could get that info to them in time.
I like the theory that the legion of the damned are the Emperors equivalent of “warp daemons” since the emperor has a strong connection to the warp and can’t exactly move about, he projects his will through the warp to aid his imperium when needed
This has always been my favourite theory. I think the idea that the Emperor is basically a Chaos god, becoming what he so desperately wanted to destroy because humanity cant help but worship something, brings a level of tragedy to the Emperor's failings that I find interesting. Also as for Centurius I think that he could be the Legion's version of a daemon prince, a mortal ascended to daemonhood by the will of the Emperor.
This is how I've always thought of them
You know the rules of the warp
"Always and never"
If they believe him a god, the righteous zeal and fanatical faith, he will become one - and if he does, then he always has been
The legion of the damned go back to even before the emperor, they are certainly chaos entities, but they don't reap indiscriminate death
Certainly feels like the Emperor will become a chaos god somepoint soon after the 41st millenium
@@rubbykibress7808 It would also be poetic as he made a Devils bargain with the warp gods to pursue his plan of galactic conquest. I just finished thousand sons and this just seems right.
Maybe the emperor is completely hollowed out and he's stuck in the wrlarp untill his physical body is destroyed and he's saving Astartes trapped in the warp and using them to tip key battles for humanity in his favour.
My personal theory: They are one of the lost legions. The second or eleventh legion having been twisted and altered by the warp. That would explain why the emperor didn't want anyone to remember them, because he didn't want anyone to understand the warp. Having a literal warp legion kinda goes against the emperor's ideals.
Once I learned that there were lost legions, I always assumed this was one of them.
I would be entirely unsurprised if you're correct. Great theory.
cool theory
Even if they were twisted by the warp, they're obviously still loyal.
that reminds me of FFX, the whole world following an anti-technology religion and the big temple of that religion in Bevelle is purely high tech. once beyond the door that normal people are never allowed to pass.
Can you imagine these badasses showing up at the end of Space Marine 2 during a moment where Titus is making a final stand against a tryanid horde with his brothers? Gives me shivers just thinking about it.
I mean that would be an awesome way of bringing them back. At the end he's fighting alone against a Horde to give the last survivor's a chance to escape, then they show up to save him and recruit him into their ranks.
@Flare They wouldn't recruit him, just assist him.
@Flare The astarties are already cheap godmode because of the plot armor, hence why "hand wave" everyone's Primaris now! And that's without counting the custodians, which are LITERALLY godmode space marines basically, and are now actively joining the war.
Not sure I'd introduce them into Titus's story, but I'd definitely love to see them return in the on-line multiplayer. Maybe even expand on them. In the first game they were locked into Aquila Pattern power armour and carried standard war gear. But I know they also wear Corvus Pattern and some LOTD specific weapons (skulls and bones on the weapons etc) would be very cool. AND habits for my Dark Angels! 😅
@Flare It's a problem of scale. You need to read more stories involving normal people like Guardsmen, or go look at the opening of Space Marine 2. There's a reason why they're called the Emperor's Angels. There's a reason why their transformation proccess is so convulted. There's a reasron why a single chaos marine will make an entire Guard force say their last prayers. When you really zero down on Astartes, they are fucking stupid biologically and mentally, then are given equally stupidly op equipment like power armor, and that just got leveled up now that everyone and their mother is a primaris.
There is a reason why the custodians arer basically perfected space marines and are a terrifying force, why primacrchs are massive world-changing forces and have become daemon princes, and why chaos even went for them in the first place. Look at some of the deadliest 'hammers' in the imperium--Grey Knights, legion of the damned, Deathwatch. They are effectively angels fighting a supernatural far above the more mundane battles of cultists, soldiers, basic aliens, mutants, etc.
So yes, they're not immortal--not even immortal things in 40k are unstoppable apparently--but they are definitely godlike.
In a galaxy of Xenos and demons and other warp horrors, there's something especially cool about having, what is essentially a ghost story in the Legion of the Damned.
Legion of the Damned came about because Andy Chambers painted some marines with flames and said, 'Hey these sure look cool.' and Jervis Johnson was like, 'sure let's make them a thing!'
100%
I like them and hope they pop up more often. Funny seeing them just spawn around Dante during Dev of Baal and he pays almost no mind to it.
Deus ex machina Legion
If I recall, he was pretty much deep in the Thirst at that point and scarcely a step off the Black Rage. He was hallucinating pretty badly in general, so he might have simply assumed he was losing it. I would have to read through it again.
@@kasimmorathi Essentially exactly what happens, at that point he'd hallucinated the Sanguinor a multitude of times, and is kind of at a loss when both the Sanguinor and the legion of the damned do appear. Line of page 340 reads: "The Legion of the Damned had come to aid the sons of Sanguinius in their hour of need. Dante blinked, but this vision did not disappear."
Hail the norn queen and their mighty iron clawed gods
Ah, OP stuff should be rare
Luetin's been AT IT these past few months, love to see it.
Right? So good.
Would depress me as I’m totally seeing parallels to the “establishment-power structure” of OUR today’s (Globalist-mindset!)
Edit:Holy-Sheet! Ghost Rider as a necromancer?! Yea DEATH IT’s Self in physical form!
Glad he is well. He puts a lot of effort into his videos, and he keeps himself out of them. Like Wolflord Rho. I have nothing against the guy, but the dude with the swoosh blonde hair, and bandana. I can't watch him. Again I have nothing bad to say of the guy. His hair just rubs me the wrong way. And I have a headfull of blonde hair myself. I just can't see past it. A failure on my part.
But as I said I am glad he is doing well. These guys keep the hobby rolling.
I really like the Imperial rage demon theory. “Only in death does duty end. And even in death I serve.” marines that die with un resolved rage, or with such will they they refuse to stop.
But I also really like the time travel theory, that they are from a future so grim and forsaken that the Ordo Chronus is actively sending Astartes back to pivotal moments. The time travel through the Warp is so harsh it burns away most of their little remaining humanity and makes them nigh unstoppable beings, but at a cost. Once their battle is won, and Time set to right, they vanish because they no longer exist. They erase themselves from reality. Though that may just be me really loving heroic sacrifices like that.
Perfection or deletion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Perdition's Flame is a short "horror" story that briefly touches on the Inquisition's attempt to "contain" a captured member of the Legion of the Damned. Worth a listen.
Seconded. Absolute goodness
That story is what lead me here. New to 40k lore(recently found they help me relax). The legion of the damned has caught my attention more than anything. Orcs are up there too, but still lol.
Where can it be read?
I´ve been waiting a long time for this one.
Bless you, Luetin. The Emperor protects!
The EMPEROR protects!!!
@@ebagigwhite
Yes... He does.
@@Numtalegau Natch, you got there first
@@skeewiffenator
Pick up your weapon, Guardsman.
Goosebumps.
Every. Single. Time.
Amazing short video.
You do know that the emperor is space Hitler right? He’s actually worse than Hitler. He’s killed trillions. Possibly even more.
The second theory is my preferred, as the Emperor summoned the ten thousand to turn the tide of an otherwise inevitable defeat. Being the emperor’s psychic will made manifest but only in the most dire and vital of battles, as when they were first summoned. With the Centurion lore, it can make sense that over time the legion gained some additional souls from those that meet the standard sought by the emperor when he summoned them.
I agree with that. This makes centurius even more interesting, as it could be the echo of the emperors call that resurrected him to keep up the damned legions work so far after.
could be like The WIld Hunt, where they pick up members as they go.
I believe that the legion of the damned when I became what it is now, was not only made up of the loyalists from the dropsite massacre, but also of the loyalists from the atrocity aswell because who else would want revenge more than those betrayed by their own legion and friends.
They could have also then picked up the remnants of the Firehawk's into their ranks, could fit the established lore while being like ' we never said the Firehawks were the beginning of the Legion.'
The Legion of the Damned 'predates' the emperor of mankind
So it's not his physical will, but if he is destined to become a chaos god, then time means nothing to him, and he could send his daemons back, back to before his material birth
Don't think I've ever commented on your channel before, I've been listening for a year or so. Just to say thank you, you make great content.
there was an inquisitor of the ordo chronos which had a legion of the damned detained in a book called 'perditions flame', it is part of the warhammer horror series and we know it is one of them by the complete match of the description and the fact that the man telling us the story had to keep repeating the story to us to remember the event and not forget it
I like the idea that the legion of the dammed are effectively the daemons of the emperor. Much as the chaos gods have their daemons, the emperors will within the warp has his own as well.
Tbf; the king in yellow has his army of "grails" - warp entities and daemons that are not chaos aligned, do not serve the imperium, and aren't created by the emporer (saints)
My favorite theory of their origin is that these are the space marines, who fell in battle against traitors on Istvaan III. I don't know how probable that is but I like it 😁
Apparently Ferrus Manus is also part of LoD.
@@AnshumanKantiBose would be so amazing if that’s how he came back.
Absolutely agree, I would add to that theory that generally those space marines who where killed as a result of betrayal join their ranks, kept in service by the will of the emperor so they can avenge their own death
@@majorjunkers5678 and the deaths of their comrades
I've not heard that one before. But I quite like it.
3 1/2 years sober today. The initial hump of getting over the withdraws I watched Luetin09 so I could take my mind of the pain. Still going sstrong. Thanks Brother...
Almost a year for me. Lore videos especially Luetin09 helped me as well during the worst parts of my detox and also kept me mentally occupied after.
@rbrizzle4394 Yeah bro!!! It activated my mind so I could just listen and enjoy.
5 summers now. Keep it up
@@skeewiffenator Right on bro
Hope you still in a good place ! Almost a month for me and it’s been nice looking through sober lenses !
Fell on hard times, audible actually allows us to keep our membership, but just freeze billing for a few cycles (like through holidays for me) this was a really good touch. Thought I would mention it. Discovered my love for Audible from this channel.
I personally like the idea that the Legion belonged to one (or a combination of both) of the lost Primarchs. The use of the word "legion" here would track. I like to think that despite whatever drove the two unknown Primarchs to their dooms, the souls of their lost Legions were restless in the Warp, and after the Emperor was interred into the Golden Throne, he offered them deliverance and replenishment via the souls of others if they would once again serve his will in the most critical of moments.
ab-so-lutely, i got almost excited when i thought in the same direction. Sorry that i have to spam your post for this but i got so inspired i had to put it here :D
The prodigal son of the Emperor was to be punished for his resistance to the Emperor's vision with the expulsion and destruction of his legion to destroy the gene seed. But instead, the Primarch offered his head, offering that his death would more than make up for his actions in saving his legion. Attica Centurius, the Primarch's right-hand man, begs the Emperor not to listen to his son's words. But the Emperor refuses to disregard the wishes of his cursed child. His son's last words were, "Give them the task I could not fulfill," as his father's sword came down. When the emperor realized that his son had understood that in the last moment of his life he had placed himself entirely at the service of humanity by sacrificing his life for the imperial truth, he collapsed in pain. His heart burned at the sight of his child's legion that had abandoned him. With a flaming gaze, he strode toward Atticus, showing him with a glance that she had failed in her task, and with a cry that contained all his pain and grief at his failure, the Emperor plunged the Executioner's blade into the ground. A firestorm of psionic violence engulfed the remains of his son, his kneeling Legion, the entire planet, leaving nothing but ashes. Since that day, the Legion has stood by the Empire whenever it is but a sword stroke away from destruction. Burning in the flames of penance, the Legion of the Damned does not atone for the guilt of its Primarch. It atones for the guilt of the Emperor.
I'm convinced that The Legion of The Damned is just Alpharious and the Alpha Legion up to some Tom Foolery
@@BzoarghWhere is this entry from? Is it a book? Which one? I'd love to know.
Thanks for sharing!
@Daggz90 it's not from anything I think. That guy wrote it himself
"So does it make sense that the Legion of the Damned are Time-Warriors _attempting_ _to_ _set_ _right_ _what_ _once_ _went_ _wrong._ _Hoping_ _in_ _each_ appearance, _this_ _one_ _is_ _going_ _to_ _be_ _the_ _one_ _to_ _get_ _them_ _home._ " Luten ~ _(in_ _italics_ _Luten_ _quoting_ Quantum Leap _intro)_ Time Stamp 1:05:00
I LOVE the niche reference, the cheesy wholesomeness of Quantum Leap makes it clear inserting its "good is predestined to triumph over evil because of time travel" is not appropriate for Warhammer 40,000
We seriously need new Legion of the Damned models! They look so badass and have some interesting lore implications such as them maybe being Imperial Daemons....
The word daemon is very specifically used with beings of the warp/under the influence or control of the chaos gods. I know the community speaks alot about imperial or non chaos God "daemons." But to me it sounds silly. And it's become an over simplification for anything of a higher power within the 40k universe.
@@Merovinjian If the Eldar can murder fuck a God into being, then why couldn't the trillions of imperial citizens pray one into existence? Add to that the Emperor being kept alive by literal sacrifices, and his psychic presence in the warp fighting Chaos...I see it as entirely possible that they're somehow imperial daemons.
@@Merovinjian Ignorant.
@@Merovinjian Yes.. the word demon is used that way and it's also exactly what would describe the legion of the damned. Beings of the warp. Under the influence or control of a chaos god. Remeber that chaos doesn't mean just slaneesh, nurgle, khorne and tzeentch. It means ALL beings that exist in the warp. Good and bad. All in the warp is chaos. The emperor as a godlike presence in the warp absolutely fits the description of a chaos god.
@@michaeloxlong You're right. The Eldar created Slaanesh so why couldn't humanity pray literal Angels of Death into existance? Granted,Humans aren't as Warp Attuned as The Eldar but untold trillions of humans believing in something may have a shot..
The end credit with the music swelling and evocative images of imperial glory gets me rock hard everytime..for the Emperor of course.
Seen so many and still gets me pumped up
I'll cancel my dick pump order and just watch LT vids, if what you say be truth, good sir 😄
(Kriegsman muffles his approval)
Sciophobia by Jo Wandrini
The false emperor
@@BlinkBoyBrad Just because He's the fifth and strongest Warp entity doesn't mean He's not The Immortal God Emperor
I loved the story where one was captured and being transported by the inquisition. The story does throw most theories away. Where the Inquisition is using psykers as batteries to keep it imprisoned but the ship is experiencing ghosts of dead marines as a consequence, with wrap based foolery going on.
Which leans on the theory that theyre space marines, that have died with their souls given form in the wrap. But also leans on that theyre the emperors deamons.
I wrote a short story about the Legion. The implications I used were that they're a psychic manifestation of dead Astartes. Astartes dying in a state of betrayal or a thirst for vengeance. I even included the legionnaires selecting recently dead Astartes to join their ranks. A legion of vengeance. I also included a very large legionnair, headless, carrying a large skull upon his chest plate.
You know it's going to be great when the first segment is called "True Fear"
you just Know that slaanesh had his/her noisemarines playing ''welcome to the jungle-GnR'' on full blast when she fell to that doomlegionair🤣
@@redsampler2017 "we got fun🍆 and games"🕹
@@bobloerakker7010
well guns and roses put it this way. and i have a sneaky suspicion slaanesh like that way as well...
''If you want it you're going to bleed, but it's the price you pay
And you're a very sexy girl, it's very hard to please
You can taste the bright lights, but you won't get there for free''
''Feel my, my, my, my serpentine
Oh, ah, I wanna hear you scream''
''In the jungle, welcome to the jungle
Watch it bring you to your shun-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n, knees, knees
Mwah, I wanna watch you bleed''
''You know where you are?
You're in the jungle, baby
You're gonna die''
this has lucious lucius the eternal written all over it.
slaanesh is happy for a moment..
and that dark eldar got what she deserved.
@@redsampler2017 I think when humans are pulled into the webway, to be made into furniture. They got what they deserved. I curse anyone who praises that tyrant of an emporer. One day you munki and your imperium will burn. Then all of you will be know true pain. Until then Keep sacrificing your 10000 psychers a day and enjoy your corpse starch.
I always liked the idea that if Living Saints are like Deamon Princes for the Star Child, the Legion is the equivalent of demons. Yeah the rules for them merely rhyme with other demons, but it's also been shown that manifestations of the Emperor's Will can appear in situations where the Warp should not be present. Clearly the mechanisms of the Star Child's power is not the same as the Chaos Gods. Maybe it all operates on some Other dimension than the Materium or Warp, similar to how Gork and Mork aren't in the Warp or (presumably) Webway
Legion of the damned have also appeared where the warp is actively weakened in some instances. I can't find it though I do remember seeing a short lore snippet of the legion appearing to fight the tyranids. They were also forced from reality when the Cadian Pylons were activated during the fall of Cadia, Celestine herself appeared to also be weakened by the event
Gork and Mork do live in the warp, just not the part where the Chaos Gods call home.
I tend to subscribe to the Istvaan theory. Imagine all the feelings of hurt, betrayal and anger consolidated in the warp by that much death and the mental scars of the death of Ferus Manus. Pair thst with the superhuman fanaticism of loyalist marines and I can see those feelings being made solid in the warp. So much so that they even develop their own recruitment strategy and signature fighting style and strategy.
Same, mainly because I want to see Rylanor come back to kick more Slaaneshi ass.
Maybe 2 theorys can be true at once. Perhaps the fallen of Istavar were made into "demons" of the emperor by humanity's trauma, rage, and hope.
When they first appeared in that White Dwarf issue so long ago in the 80's, they became my favorite legion. Thank you for covering them so thoroughly!
When they first appeared their rules were INSANE.
2 up invuln save (only took damage on a 1) and a 2 up accuracy (only missed on a 1) for THE ENTIRE ARMY was cray cray. I mean, yeah, they were like 100 points per marine but that still meant you had 20 nigh un-killable men that could hold points.
Never mind the rule that playing them could force upon the game which made it so the game would ignore capture points and instead only kills mattered.
"The legion showeing the fists how its done" got a good laugh out of me. Yet damn Lutin how hard you feeling against Dorns boys?
Lamenters are my favorite chapter. Guilliman is my favorite primarch. But the Legion of The Damned has always held a very special place in my heart.
Your favorite chapter is those poor bastards? You poor bastard.
@@thalastianjorus you're damn right. Sad lemon boys all the way 🤣
Since the legion of the damned have no true canonical origin Imma say that the reason the lamenters die so often is because each time one of them does die they join the legion of the damned. Kinda like how some daemons of nurgle transform into different daemons but instead of hatred the lamenters transform by their sacrifice.
The music you pick for these videos is so fitting and is so appropriately 40k in nature that I'm a bit in awe of how good you are at it.
Been thinking the same myself, for as long as I've followed this channel. The production quality is just sooo good. The use of sounds and tunes is so exquisitely implemented in the right spots, that it really feels like a journey whenever you embark on these long format lore-sessions.
I just absolutely love it.
Oh I absolutely LOVE these guys !!!!
Imagine the soul of every dead Astartes being given one....last.... chance to serve the God Emperor. As a wreathed in fire daemon for the good of Humanity.
As Pirofilia goes, they give Sallies a very good run for their money.
LotD are an amazing piece of 40K Lore, no matter what they (really) are.
@@Numtalegau still gonna stick with the idea they are loyalist daemons
@@admiraltiberius1989
Agreed.
Untill proven wrong, i also believe that they are loyalist daemons.
Maybe next year GW can expand their lore within the Universo. Would be a treat.
@@admiraltiberius1989 I agree with the daemon theory, but think lesser daemons.. I lean towards the Emperor making a new legion or recovering a lost legion from the warp. If every dead space marine was made into a member of LotD, Chaos wouldn't have gained ground as much as we have seen with the Black Crusades. The LotD has to be very limited in number, otherwise they would have showed up in the Eye of Terror en masse to wipe out the traitor legions.
That line; "One last chance" reminds me of Braveheart.
Seems fitting for the Damned.
I love how the LotD have the ability to strike absolute terror in beings that rarely if ever feel fear.
In the ultramarines novel the chapters due urial encounters the legion of the damned in an ultramarines tomb on calth, it is heavily implied that the legionaries are heresy era ultramarines, and also in the novel master of mankind it is also suggested that a legion of spectral space marines fight the demons in web way contained in a wall of flame as the emperor walks to fight the demon, led by what is implied to be ferrus manus
I really do miss these guys. They would make a great kill team kit and im a bit surprised GW has just more or less abandoned them.
they are a proper legion. a kill team feels ill cast for them.
No no, GW is just going by their lore, forgetting everything, and letting it get lost in the sands of time, maybe one day they'll rediscover it.
@@CloudianMH They were created as a one squad release back in 2nd edition. You could just buy them as the box set and they weren't a full legion at the time.
Wow, you are cranking them out lately!!
Thanks man, can't express how much your videos help me relax/fall asleep.
And let's be real, without sleep, life is awful.
Honestly the coolest legion in my opinion. For them even in death they still serve zombie astartes. Maybe the FH as they were dying in the warp came into contact with the legion and were saved by them in exchange for becoming members. Imagine they’d jump at the chance
An astartes joining this legion to avoid the horrors of his soul going to *insert any chaos domain* seems an easy choice to make, especially if you were killed by a slaneshi demon
@@smilingbear7430 100% agree basically become immortal and doing what you’ve been doing doesn’t sound like a bad gig.
Basically the Flying Dutchman?
They were Flame Falcons, all the evidence given and even GW used LOTD images to decipt the Flame Falcons in their official website (check from wayback machine). They had the grace (for some other reason i believe) and purged with indignity. Legion Of The Damned is a requiem for this event.
I like the theory that because of the golden throne and the emperor being worshipped as a god he's become something akin to a chaos god and the legion of the damned are his demons or something similar since they are of the warp. It would also explain how they can just teleport wherever and to these very crucial battles at the right time like the emperor himself is sending them there.
Nothing gets you quite as cozily set in for a lutin video as the recounting of a drukhari being disembowled :)
They're basically the "Mysterious Stranger" of WH40k
They share striking similarities in appearance and fighting tactics with the sons of malice. Food for thought. For example "the legendary doomed ones", "fighting in complete silence". Emperor is probably Malice.
“Comic sans-using gundam pilots” is one of the best descriptions for the tau I have heard in a while
Ahhh the Legion of the Damned. Time to dive into the murky depths of obscure lore and the Emperor's "Will"
I really enjoyed this one. I remember the Legion being released and extended discussions as to their nature with my fellow 40k geek, as it wasn't quite the hobby powerhouse it is today. The release of the Legion coincided with a small Spacewolves campaign book which mentioned the disappearance of a portion of the chapter into the warp, and I always liked the idea that it was them. I like the theory that they are essentially Daemons, having been twisted into immortality, unable to return to the Emperor by their own nature, they exist outside time, like other creatures in the warp may do and that their timeliness is not due to being able to perceive the future, but having already done it in their own past.
Hey Luetin thank you for your hard work I knew nothing about 40k a year ago now I’m a full fledge imperial fan boy and obsessed with the story lines in large part do to your videos thanks again bro, For the imperium!!!!
Same. I got too close to the lore and it sucked me in. It's so huge it has its own gravitational field.
Another theory: Tzeentch knows that humans souls/emotions are required to fuel the warp, and sends demons in the rough guise of Astartes to critical battles in order to keep the great game going
When it comes to the legion of the damned when it says, "they became the legion of the damned" (the firehawks), they did not create it, but where recruited into what you called the "proto legion" in the same way The captain was. The half died after the re-emergence where those who were not fit. This was my take. If there is more evidence I would like to know more
Praise to the emperor! Wake and Bake and a fresh drop from the lore master.
Thats the one- thats the best nickname I've seen...
"Loremaster Luetin"
Perfect timing man, I've been feeling 40k burnout, your lore videos always help
that sounds dangerously close to heresy
Well... as cool as 40k is.. the world is full of so many cool things to do and explore, there is soooo much to learn and practice.. holy shit, if you're burned out with 40k just give some of your time to something you're (pun intended) on fire for!
@@earlgrey2130 maybe it is just general burn out because thinking about it I just feel drained with everything
Perfect Luetin, perfection. I swear, GW should hire you to check over all future books they publish for lore discrepancies.
110% best outro music flow luetin!!
1:11:23 literally made my jaw drop! The volume dynamic, the impact of the chords slamming you like a bolt round to the cerebellum! YES
LotD is one "faction" I've never looked into. So I look it up, and there's a 1 hour Luetin video.
Praise the Emperor.
This takes me back to one of my first marines I painted.
"We march for Macragge! - And we shall know no fear"
What if they are one of the 2 lost primarchs legions and one of them were "lost" or erased on purpose by the emporer and used as his get out of jail free card? Or they were erased for using the warp (which explains why everyone forgets them) against the emporers will and were remorseful of their disobedience? As penance they use their knowledge of the warp to serve the emporer as his black ops unit, the emporer using his godlike foresight sending them into what would be important battles that would have been a defeat to change the future in mankind's favor.
The consistency of your uploads truly amaze and fills me with joy because it's always a pleasant surprise to get more lore to delve into. May the god emperor's light always shine on your path to knowledge
Typical Legion of the Damned engagement:
**teleports behind you** "Nothing personnel, xenos scum!" **chainsword revving**
6:22 "a righteous tsunami of vengeance" such beautifully descriptive language
I would love some more books on these guys! I feel like you could have a real plot arc that could tie the emperor to events happening in real time and the warp with these as his personal legion. I love the idea of the legion being the risen of Istavan, at least, originally, and then being bolstered by the fire hawks as well. I look forward to the black library expanding their lore!
I always wondered if the legion of the damned was the thunder warriors having been sacrificed at that mountain in battle, would relive on and grow with every fallen loyal space marine after. That loyalty to the emperor is like a beacon to these ghostrider looking mofos.
Legion of the damned are cool af, would like to see and hear more of them within the current setting of 40k
Personally i like arches theory about the legion ofthe damned. It goes like this: The emperor at this point is for all intents and purposes a minor chaos god. Probably still tethered to some extent to his mortal shell but his psychic mind is fully in the warp. And his mind is constantly empowered by the the sacrifice of psychers at the astronomicon as well as the faith of the innumerable humans within the imperium. And just like any chaos god the emperor has his own demons. And that is the legion of the damned. As with all demons their physical appearance is largely based on what the people perceiving them believe them to look like. Thus the legion of the damned would obviously appear like the emperors avenging angels, the space marines.
Everyone’s gangster till freaking ghost rider Astartes roll up repping the Imperial set.
Man, these videos and the lore is absolutely EPIC
With the information regarding Attica Centurius, I believe that the Legion of the Damned is a force that is a much more brutal manifestation of the souls of the Imperium's most devout warriors who are tasked with exacting eternal vengeance on the enemies of man
Hoped for this episode and it was finally delivered. Thank You.
/btw. I find it very interesting that on Malcador's graphic art when he sits on a throne symbols II and XI are highlithed.
I personally think that Legion of the Damned might be simply lost Legion (II or XI) that went ahead of themselfs and lost their way inside the warp millenia ago or... were simply "designed" by the Emperor to act as Legion that operates inside the warp.
I feel I must point something out:
Deathwatch supplemental books contain a way for player characters becoming Legion of the Damn upon death.
I think they are like what I think the other warp creatures are. They can see everything across all time, and interject to maintain the causal flow. I think they are within the warp, but not of it. One of my most loved 40k lore.
This might be one of those occasions where the entitity would be a lot more interesting if they stopped adding to it - just having a ghostly legion that sometimes helps out for whatever reason is a lot more interesting to me than a guy talking about a debt of souls and converting some of them, the original myth feels better when there's absolutely no dialogue imo
Here's the most important thing to keep in mind when looking at warhammer lore in general, and "obscure" (ie not very expanded) lore in particular:
It's often a story written without any great plans by someone, and expanded uppon by someone else, and someone else and someone else and each of them will use the "but this is just myth and speculation" both to keep the story as malleable and easily connected to the previous link in that chain, but also to keep the cool "spooky mystery" that 40k love to cultivate. This is especially true for older lore.
To understand what that lore really mean, you have to try to understand what each author wanted to say.
In the case of the legion of the damned it started with a very straight forward and clear explanation: The legion of the damned is the remnant of the fire hawk that got lost in the warp, contaminated by warp AIDS (or the non nurgle variety) that ended up making them all super strong, resilient and also bound to the warp (a bit like how Kaldor is), but they are also all dying of that AIDS, slowly but surely. Another perk of their warpish state is that they can use the emperor tarot perfectly to predict where they need to be, and can just manifest there.
That was a cute story written for what was basically meant to be a small (couple of squad) groupe of individual.
Then the story got picked up again and as with everything cool, the goal was to retcon the part that made them a very small and soon to be extinct group to make them a more permanent thing, so they added the idea that some other marines could be turned into legionaries.
From there they kept popping up from time to time when a writer wanted a cool deus ex machina to save the day in a ghostly fashion. Fast forward a couple of decades later and their identity was started to be mostly reduced as "warp ghost/imperial daemon marines", most if not all trace of the original concept of that small group of actual living but cursed human was gone.
I'm pretty sure GW will at some point bring them back in a spectacular fashion on the table top, not as a unite that you could just slap into all of your imperial armies (this concept has been thankfully abandoned recently) but as a full (but condensed) faction on its own, AoS (or Thousand Sons) Style: 1 troop, 1 Elite (terminator legionary anyone?), a dreadnought, and too many HQ (and a token new HQ for each next edition to pretend they are supporting that range).
When that happen, they'll rewrite the lore for them and you'll have a couple of option:
1) They try to pull the "nostalgia" card and have them be once again cursed living marines.
2) Go full on Ao and have them be completely ghosts that may or may not grow in number by picking up the souls of fallen astartes heroes
3) They are actual Imperial Daemon born from the devotion of quadrillion of human souls (would make a lot of sens but aint gona happen).
4) "Their origin is dark and mysterious"
Whatever they chose to do, it will more than likely totally replace any of the current poorly maintained lore and I wouldn't be surprised if Santurius ended up heavily retconned.
If I had to guess, by looking at GW current writing style, I'd bet they'll pick the 2nd option and have them be a host of warp ghost elevating the souls of fallen heroes into immortal ghost warriors.
Hell, they may even pick up that random stupid glimps in Master of Mankind where the Emperor manifested a flaming ghost of Ferus Manus to cook some daemons, and have him be the origin of the legion and their leader.
That scene was obviously meant to simply be a psichic attack from the Emperor and nothing more, but we are living in the Age of Guilliman era so it would fit with their current pretty dumb writing.
Part of me thinks that the legion of the damned are astartes that fell in battle but through sheer power of will, their souls refused to depart, and now they appear to continue exacting swift vengeance.
"For only in death, does duty end. And even in death, i will serve."
This guy fuels my focus at work like nothing else. Keep the prime cuts of content coming good sir.
The meaning of "focus" is to devote all your attention to one task without being interrupted by other tasks. Listening to a video while you work is by definition the opposite of focus. Just saying..
@@earlgrey2130 Focus can also be designated as the centre of attention. So he can listen to this video in the background and can still be considered focused on his work.
@@earlgrey2130
Boooooooooooo! Of all the things you could choose to comment on and that's the one? Wat? Like what you're talking about sounds like obsession and fixation not focus
My head canon is that the legion of the damned is the culled mysterious 2nd (or 11th) legion. I think that the 2nd legion was genetically made to be more attuned to the warp and maybe even made aware of the chaos gods. More like early versions of the grey knights. When the 2nd legion primarch was found, maybe his warp-attuned abilities allowed him to find the chaos gods earlier on and get corrupted, because he was scattered like the rest of the primarchs by the chaos gods and unable to get his father's guidance about chaos. So the Emperor had the primarch killed and his legion as well out of association, even if they were loyal and uncorrupted. This probably convinced the emperor to hide the truth of chaos from the other primarchs and legions. But since the 2nd legion that was killed was warp-attuned, they live on as the legion of the damned, wanting to be loyal to the emperor. Serving a penance for their failed primarch. This would explain why they're called a legion and legionnaires. Keep in mind this is all my head canon, but I feel this is an interesting avenue of approach and there can be so many other ideas to build off of this.
It's been confirmed via Malcador the Sigilite that the 2nd and 11th legionnaries were all mindwiped and intergrated into the 7th (Fists) and 13th (Ultra) respectively. This is futher supported that those two legions each had a sudden surge of brothers with no real answer as to where they come from. (Please don't ask me to remember which lore video I heard this from...)
The reasoning that Malcador gave was that the "flaw" with the 2nd and 11th laid soley with it's primarchs and that it's legions could still be useful. It's entirely possible that is a potential source for "homeless" chapters such as the Blood Ravens.
That was a fascinating one, LT. Unfortunately it leaves us with almost as many questions as answers lol I like to think of them as Emps' own "demon force" which will become more active the nearer Emps' gets to Godhood.
The music in these videos are so absolutely beautiful.
As I've commented in the past, I'm not the most well read on 40K lore, but I do enjoy theorising anyway, and so listening to the vid, I had a little moment of inspiration. During the description of the Legion of the Dammed Luetin talks about no-one having any idea who they are, there's no record of their origins and when there are recording systems nearby, they go haywire or break down, almost as if a higher power is expunging any records of the legion. And this made me think, what if the Legion of the Dammed is a remnant of one of the Missing Legions; the II and XI.
I know IRL they exist for players to create a 'personal' legion, but in-lore, they are just missing. No record, no imagery, nothing. Any record removed from existence and speaking of them is basically heresy, ensuring the Legion can never be corrupted; because how can Choas corrupt what it cannot find.
What if one of the two was sent into another realm, or even the warp itself, by the Emperor to be a last ditch defence; the last bastion which appears at the direst of moments. Over the millennia the legion, or a remnant of, has been transformed into this near-immortal force that is directed by the Emperor's will, or the Legion's Primarch, hence the lack of predictability.
It would fill in the hole of the Fire Hawks; the trigger for the Legion to begin operations is the discovery and absorption of the Fire Hawks astartes into its numbers, and to keep the identity of the Legion a secret as it ever has been, they adopt things like the Fire Hawks moto and the fire iconography into the otherwise un-marked black armour. The Fire Hawks tactics fit fairly well; they apply overwhelming force without being reckless and duty to the protection of the Imperium, just as the Legion of the Dammed do, but the origins of the Dammed and their current nature override the need for self-preservation of the Fire Hawks.
The idea of one of the Lost Legions, sent into the void by the Emperor to await the moment of need, maintaining a status of absolute anonymity and secrecy, waiting for its call to return by the arrival of a flawed but bellicose legion with a sense of duty to the Emperor beyond doubt feels like it fits together.
As I say, I'm not a 40K lore expert so I may have left some huge, glaring holes but I enjoyed the thought-experiment and nothing I heard here suggested it couldn't function as a theory.
Great video as always, Luetin. I only discovered Warhammer 40k after I discovered Warhammer Fantasy, which I discovered through Total War: Warhammer. Anyway, you brought up a good topic for another video in this one. A video about Be'lakor, the first Daemon Prince, or really Daemon Princes in general, would be a good topic for a video in the future.
Funny enough, The Legion Of the Damned was the first Legion I actually learned about. Not blood Angels, not fists, not the smurfs, but the damned
i really like the theory of the Legion of the Damned being sort of ''imperial demons'', a manifestation of the Emperors wrath, the tortured and betrayed souls of the dead of Istvaan .....or one of the 2 legions, the purged and the forgotten, maybe lost in a warp storm or sent into the eye as penance for past crimes only to swallowed by the warp and ''rediscovered'' by the emperor after being put on the throne
I'm not sure how it works, but I would love the audio from these long form videos to be accessible on audible to listen to while working or painting without having to worry about TH-cam remaining on. Great lore dive as always.
There's little more terrifying to me than a whole legion being able to come and go as they please without a sound.
So many of the units in warhammer 40k are just mind blowing. Previous favourite was the death company because of their unrivalled lunacy. I think legion of the damned take first place now. Awesome video.
Aye. I started as a Dark Angels fanboy back when they were black and red and had only just showed up in the original Space Hulk board game (which I have) and pages of White Dwarf, but over the years my fondness for other chapters has grown along with the body’s of fiction for them. Now, despite my initial loathing of yellow, I find myself a genuine fan of Dorn and his stubborn lads.
It’s nice how the IP has lasted so long that we have entire libraries of lore, themes, and characters to embrace.
Legion of the damned! Spoooooky! Since we're talking about the damned, you should do a video on the Imperium's greatest victories! Teach these Heretics about the strength of man!
I can imagine the Legion of the Dammed thinks: “Bro I can’t believe our brothers of the Imperium are throwing the game this hard”
Rewatching this, I missed that you mentioned Primer during the segment on time travel last time. It is the best time travel movie, and probably the only one that does it in a consistent way.
I listen to your videos every night when I’m in bed, learning all I can. If I fall asleep during one video, I will listen the next day to what I missed.
Last night I was listening to this one and fell asleep but woke up around 1:11:12 and BOY did that get me hyped!! So damn cool! Woke me right up and I had to rewind and listen from where I left off!
I’d never heard of this legion before but wow! I’m new to warhammer but love the lore and absolutely LOVE your videos!
Thank you so much for all the hard work and effort you put into these!
I'm in love with the intro song.
could anyone help me in finding which Kev McLeod piece it is?
please and thank you.
Sciophobia by Jo Wandrini
I've thought on this before and maybe the legion of the damned are one of the lost legions. Like all Primarchs and legions are a reflection or a facet of the Emperors personality.
The legion of the damned are a legion that embodies the warp power facet of the Emperor.
I love the Legion of the Damned, thank you so much for covering them.
A couple of thoughts:
1. Upon returning to Prospero after the detruction of the Thousand Sons, Ahriman witnesses a very similar psychic after image that conjures up the entire battle again. An after-image that can actually harm them. So the idea of the 'psychic resonance' from the Emperor might not be a strange one. (all of the marines are there, including apparitions of Russ and Magnus).
2. The Malcador's Staff-mission was the one standing out a bit: we know that the Emperor and Malcador were able to create the Titan-moon where the Grey Knights resided for a long time outside of real-space, so it's not a far stretch for me to think that - if a relic was found similar to that skull - they would try and harness it, even if heretical, to set it up like this.
3. That being said: this comparison goes further, when thinking of that short story about the Grey Knight found in his casket, who is able to come alive as a wraith/skull in his harness to complete their mission... (just saying...).
4. All of the above fits in with them replenishing their legion when finding some elite astartes during an encounter, who would otherwise be lost anyways. (like some 'Knight Errant', yep...)
5. We should also consider - still - that the Warp has not always been just this place of pure evil, so even though it would be considered heretical by the empire, it's quite possible that they found some part or relic that would allow them to make use of it for this legion, which would also explain their tally in the form of required souls. That's also the most obvious tell by the way, of this being connected to the Emperor/some elite group established by either him or Malcador.
6. And lastly - and I hate to do this to you - but the idea of the multiverse and timelines has already been breached: in Ahriman's story, where he tries to 'fix' his brothers who are suffering the flesh-change, he and his fellow psykers actually browse through all versions of the future, seeking to find one where the Thousand Sons are actually helped and saved. Interestingly and foreboding is the fact that they don't actually find one where their legion survives as is, but pick one that comes closest to it. (dum, dum, dum...)
Considering the video and the above, it's paramount for this legion to stay invisible and pick their moments. As their origin might very well be deemed 'heretical'.
After-thought: if the Emperor is residing somewhere in the materium/warp, and is still influencing reality through belief and followers, seeking to be reborn.
Wouldn't that technically also make him a Chaos God?
one curious thing - maybe they percive time backwards ? - for eg our future is their past in essence they are passing us by in another direction - that is why they seem so random for us - because we cant observe their pattern properly - this would also explain their knowledge of things - from their perspective it already happened hence they
know of it.
Basically we know they are somewhat connected to the warp - and in the warp things do not work as we expect them to be - flow of time as well. This explains how they know what moments were at the tipping point in a manner of speaking they are travelling through time just constantly backwards.
I’m always interested in the Audible recommendations. The short story anthologies being a great jumping off point for 40k is also a really good suggestion. Also, Echoes of Eternity, the new Heresy/Siege of Terra novel was great, instantly one of my favorites. Thanks as always for the content! Always long form and never boring. I can’t say enough nice things without seeming weird or disingenuous lol. Great video.
A video about phantom space marines covered in skulls and ethereal fire called the Legion of the Damned. Very well timed with Halloween just around the corner :)
I always thought of them as the first steps of Imperium Daemons. Using a mortal soul bound by the Emperor’s power.
Possible a reflection of the zingiest the Imperium, as well as that fractured aspect of the Emperors mind/soul.
I love the istvaan 3 design as that's boss but in a made up by myself idea I'd like the legion of the damned to be something to do with alpha legion as alpharius and omegon may have met the cabal who saw the heresy coming, giving the primarchs foresight of the future. so the legion of the damned are alpha legion that maybe made a mistake but still have foresight and work for the cabal and steer the path of time from the warp as obviously horus failed, throwing the galaxy into turmoil. Something like that. Sorry I've had a few beers 🍺
My theory:
They are remnants of the II. and XI. legions (sons of the Lost Primarchs) that still fight for the Imperium but with a slightly bitter taste. That's why they are pretty much grimmdark even by WH40k standards like taking debt in souls, ripping it from loyalists to "recruit" them and have a slight superiority complex.
Regular imperial forces: *Struggle to defend something
Legion of the Damned: *eyeroll.. "Fine.. fine... we'll show you how it's done"
the intro and outro music is sooo good on all your vids
Such a cool faction, it's a shame they likely won't be revised for 9th edition and onward especially since they seem like an awesome counter balance to the Grey Knights.
What if the Legion of the Damnned is actually a Tzinch chaotic warband. Their objectives are vague and could take years to figure out, and they can affect what people remember. After a while, a vicious attack by the LoD can be perceived as a rescue by its victims.
I liked to imagine the legion of the damned were the fallen loyalist rage in the drop site massacre.