History Fanfic / TheSwarmOfWar

* OffTheRails: The Overmind has decided to use its position in the timeline to change certain aspects. [[spoiler:Most interestingly, knowing of the first Tyranid advances has allowed it to manipulate certain events so the Imperium is better prepared against Hive Fleet Behemoth in order to eventually change the timeline to ensure Macragge falls to the Zerg.]]

* WaveMotionGun: The Lance cannon. Two have appeared so far, and each was a BIG trouble.

* ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: Axhand the Magos has the [[VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic HK]][=/=][[Franchise/MassEffect Elcor]] speech pattern.

* GrievousHarmWithABody: The Host’s attack against Bugklaw’s forces starts with him summoning a small army of Zerg and ''flinging'' them at the Ork tanks and Stompa.

* DeaderThanDead: Turns out Dark Templar energy disrupts Necron reviving just as efficiently as it does Zerg reincarnation.

* YouNeedToGetLaid: The Overmind lampshades it at one point, saying that perhaps a lot of his violence is due to sexual frustration without a proper sex drive (well, James still has that drive, but he is only a relayively small part of the Overmind's persona).

* AntiMagic: The Warp Storm around the planet rendered all the human Psykers incapable of using their powers. Well, except for the ones in the Swarm. Daemon summoning magic is also much reduced in power.
* ArchNemesis: Warboss Bugklaw. [[spoiler:Too bad he doesn’t survive into the second arc.]] Judanus seems to be shaping up to be one in the second arc.

* BackFromTheDead: The leaders of the Swarm can do it on army scale, so long as the corpses are sufficiently intact.

** he village which called for help against the Orks is attacked due to Tobias being mistaken for a daemon.

** During a battle between the King’s Army and the Chaos, forces led by the Loyalist Space Marines attack and wipe out the Chaos. The commander of the Kings's forces thanks them for the help... and is immediately exterminated along with his army; due to the King refusing to recognize the Space Marines as his superiors, his kingdom is branded as heretics.

* DissonantSerenity: When questioned, Captain Paris is the only calm person among the shouting and complaining commanders, despite Hadrian psionically influencing everyone to express their emotions.

* ExplosiveLeash: Judanus puts these on the other Marines’ necks.
* {{Exposition}}: Quite a few chapters are dedicated to description of the politics, forces and new units. One chapter is actually a Zerg codex (incomplete as of early 2015)

** Inquisitor Kryptman, on his way to Tyran, stops at a Deathwatch fortress and sees a lot of Astartes and Inquisitors there, far more than a CrapsackWorld like Warhammer ever allows. Further investigation leads to a massive OhCrap moment for everyone once they realise something has silenced the Imperium's enemies all across the region.

* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: The Swarm’s first attack against an Imperium fleet starts with dozens of asteroids (with shield disruption fields). One Cobra Class Destroyer makes a HeroicSacrifice, the rest survive, although not completely unscathed. Chapter 63 has the tables turned - a Chaos attack on a Zerg fleet starts with a bombardment by ''an entire shattered Emperor-class battleship''.

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Swarm's command creatures have names like [[Literature/TheBible Lucifer]], [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft Anub'arak]] and [[Literature/LordOfTheRings Shelob]].

* TheNeidermeyer: Captain Willon. Actually worked quite well for him... until he became the first Imperium commander to engage the Tyranids.

* SuperEmpowering: Alena has the power to empower entire Zerg task forces around her. However, more importantly and very ironically, the Swarm is this... to its enemies. That is, because the Zerg consume Chaos energy in their vicinity, enemy psykers can use their powers against them with a significantly reduced risk of corruption. When a Space Marine team boards a Zerg Hive Ship, their Librarian can use his powers until he falls unconscious with exhaustion.

* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: The daemon Ga'huld orders Judanus to break the hibernation tube where it's imprisoned with his bare hands. Fortunately for Judanus, he takes time first to consult other daemons about [[DemonicPossession possible consequences]] and... well, from that moment, he has a powerful sword named Ga'huld.

* TranshumanTreachery: What used to be James and its transformed human servants care little for humanity.

* CavalryBetrayal: First, the village which called for help against the Orks is attacked due to Tobias being mistaken for a daemon. Then, the Space Marines woken up turn out to be largely corrupted by Chaos. Later, during a battle between the King’s Army and the Chaos, forces led by the Loyalist Space Marines attack and wipe out the Chaos… and then the other side; due to the King refusing to recognize the Space Marines as his superiors, his kingdom is branded as heretics.

* PyrrhicVictory: An Avatar of the Overmind manages to defeat Khaine's, but is left so weak that the remaining Eldar take it out.

* ZergRush: [[TheBigGuy Volran]] actually has it as a tactic – a psionically reinforced stampede of a million Zerg isn’t easy to stop.

* ItsQuietTooQuiet: Said by Captain Barridon right before his force and Inquisitor Pardia are attacked by the Zerg.

* LikeAFishTakesToWater: James accepts his reincarnation very quickly. Then he builds an empire within months. Then he gets to the ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' universe… well, it’s technically not him anymore, but still, he develops a new plan quickly enough.

* BodyHorror: When Zerg attack humans with acid and spores, the results are… not pretty. Also, chapter 23 describes a battlefield full of corpses... and then a severed head comes alive - a [[PuppeteerParasite Spyling]] still has enough life in him to try searching for another host. Of course, a few tentacles must be grown first to move around. Chapter 61 contains a brief description of a Warp Drive detonating near a fleet of sea ships... since these naturally have no Gellar Field generators, the results aren't pretty.

* LossOfIdentity: Alena seems to lose her humanity, leading to quite a bit of headache for humanity.

Since the author is a teacher, most of the updates tend to be in the summer

* DeliverUsFromEvil: Played with. After Alena goes through the HormoneAddledTeenager phase, the Overmind thinks that an actual pregnancy may restore her humanity completely. Of course, there is no way he'll risk it.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Played with. Enough of James remains in the Overmind to care for Alena, but it later turns a good part of it is attraction to her psyker talent. It doesn’t tend to extend to other children, in any case (although quite a few ''are'' spared for PragmaticVillainy purposes). Chapter 64 has a Zerg Matriarch having... some strange sensations connected with an Imperial Guard commander, eventually appearing before him in a humanoid form for a talk.

As of early 2015, the story is in the process of being betaed, but is a very enjoyable one even without it.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Played with. Enough of James remains in the Overmind to care for Alena, but it later turns a good part of it is attraction to her psyker talent. It doesn’t tend to extend to other children, in any case (although quite a few ''are'' spared for PragmaticVillainy purposes).

* FalseFlagOperation: In the second story arc, a Zerg force is lost in a minor Warp anomaly and lands on an Imperium world. Investigation reveals LaserGuidedAmnesia in the colony’s memories, which implies artificial causes with hints pointing toward [[spoiler:the Eldar and their psyker powers]]. However, Volran guesses correctly that the real culprit is [[spoiler:the Overmind, since only he could have done such a precise work]]. The next chapter reveals [[spoiler:it was an Eldar attack all right, but the Overmind attempted to erase the evidence.]]

* KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter: The Swarm’s first attack against an Imperium fleet starts with dozens of asteroids (with shield disruption fields). One Cobra Class Destroyer makes a HeroicSacrifice, the rest survive, although not completely unscathed.

* ThoseWereOnlyTheirScouts: In the first arc, the Zerg had most of their units burrow and hibernate, with little outside indication about the real size of their army. The Orks turn out to have an army millions strong on a remote archipelago. [[spoiler:Now, the Imperium has its first encounter with the Zerg… a rather degraded LostColony…]]

* BodyHorror: When Zerg attack humans with acid and spores, the results are… not pretty. Also, chapter 23 describes a battlefield full of corpses... and then a severed head comes alive - a [[PuppeteerParasite Spyling]] still has enough life in him to try searching for another host. Of course, a few tentacles must be grown first to move around.

The first story arc – the first 40 chapters – is about the Overmind taking over the planet. The second arc – finished in summer 2014 – is about the Swarm testing itself against future enemies on a remote planet, opposed by the Imperium, the Eldar, the Chaos… and [[VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine Captain Titus]].

* GeneralFailure: General Vegin is yet to appear personally, but everything is done already to make him look like one. [[spoiler:Then it turns out he was a traitor... not too successful in that either.]]

* MoleInCharge: [[spoiler:Alena as the queen, Changelings as most of the nobility and commanders]].