History Warhammer40000 / W40kTropesAToD

* CargoCult: The Imperium of Man combines this with AncientAstronauts in an interesting fashion, as the overwhelming majority of the technology they use predates the incident that put [[MessianicArchetype the Emperor]] on life-support, and maintenance has become more of a religious ceremony than anything else.\\\
Ironically, all of the equipment used by the Imperium is kept at optimal efficiency because of all this, since a clean and well-maintained machine is a happy machine, and a happy machine means a happy machine-god. It also means that there's never an issue with poor quality materials being used (although field repairs do happen, which is looked down upon by the Adeptus Mechanicus). The Mechanicus are often depicted as competent engineers despite/because of their mystical approach, who understand the workings of many things and for whom reverse-engineering the [[BlackBox rest]] and discovering the physics responsible is a holy quest for enlightenment.\\\
The desire for happy machines also means that the CargoCult can get ''very angry'' when the machines are mistreated or, Emperor forbid, used incorrectly. There are entire rituals and proclamations for tech heresy, and the Adeptus Mechanicus can be very dangerous when provoked. They have all the guns, after all.

* CranialPlateAbility: Ghazkull Mag Uruk Thraka, the biggest of all ork warlords, has a skull partly made of adamantium. Ever since he got it he claims to have received visions from the ork gods and is threatening to lead every ork in the galaxy as a unified threat. He won the fealty of many rival warbands in part by the defeating their leaders in combat, often finishing the fights with powerful headbutts from his metal-plated skull.

* AwakeningTheSleepingGiant: If you plan to attack a Maiden World, make sure you can handle [[OurElvesAreBetter the reinforcements]].

Ironically, all of the equipment used by the Imperium is kept at optimal efficiency because of all this, since a clean and well-maintained machine is a happy machine, and a happy machine means a happy machine-god. It also means that there's never an issue with poor quality materials being used (although field repairs do happen, which is looked down upon by the Adeptus Mechanicus). The Mechanicus are often depicted as competent engineers despite/because of their mystical approach, who understand the workings of many things and for whom reverse-engineering the [[BlackBox rest]] and discovering the physics responsible is a holy quest for enlightenment.

** This is a frequent response to internet discussions of the "who will win" within 40K. The winner will be the protagonists of the story, regardless of the connotations of their faction.

*** Heretic Astartes — Balanced/Specialist. The Chaos Space Marines can be seen as a dark mirror of their Imperial counterparts: if the loyalists possess respectable offensive power either melee or ranged with strong defensive power, the Chaos Space Marines enjoy far superior close combat and psychic abilities, but lacking the loyalists' defensive and equipment options in many areas and requiring much more aggression and initiative on the part of the player. Rip and tear until it is done!

* BigBadEnsemble: Once again, taken up to eleven with entire ''armies'' qualifying for this 'bull. If we get into the full details, we might have to give ''40k'' its own page for it, so for now, we'll just settle with naming the biggest villains in order of threat level, from mildest to most extreme: Ork Warbosses, Chaos Lords, Daemon Primarchs, the Tyranid HiveMind and the Chaos gods. The specific characters that most qualify:

** Ghazghkull Mag uruk Thraka, one of the most powerful Ork Warlords ever and the leader of one of the most devastating Waaagh!'s in history.

** Sly Marbo is a dead-ringer for Creator/SylvesterStallone's [[Franchise/{{Rambo}} John Rambo]], with a dash of Creator/MelGibson and [[VideoGame/MetalGear Solid Snake]].

* CargoCult: The Imperium of Man combines this with AncientAstronauts in an interesting fashion, as the overwhelming majority of the technology they use predates the incident that put [[MessianicArchetype the Emperor]] on life-support, and maintenance has become more of a religious ceremony than anything else.\\
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** Sly Marbo is a dead-ringer for Creator/SylvesterStallone's [[Franchise/{{Rambo}} John Rambo]], with a dash of Creator/MelGibson and [[Franchise/MetalGear Solid Snake]].

** The Blood Angels hail from Baal, an irradiated, mutant-infested, post-apocalyptic hellhole. They seek out similar worlds for training and recruitment purposes, such as an asteroid field orbiting a black hole where quakes can send mountains falling into the void and all sorts of evil nightmares lurk about, which is a thousand miles to the nearest neighboring asteroid. This make the recruits' transformations into [[{{Bishonen}} the most angelic]] of Space Marines all the more miraculous, and may help explain the chapter's preference for shock assaults.

** A machine-worshipping CargoCult with armies of lobotimised cyborgs, VideoGame/{{Fallout}}-style combat robots and HumongousMecha!

* DependingOnTheWriter: In a fictional universe this big, with 34 years worth of writers and history, it really can't be helped. There are tonnes and ''tonnes'' of factors that vary wildly depending on who's writing them.

%%When adding examples for rules and other information specific to a limited number of editions rather than the game/setting as a whole, please note which edition is being referred to.

** Many Imperial Guard commanders end up feeling like this if they have to work with other branches of Imperial armed forces. SpaceMarines expect ordinary Guardsmen to keep up with seven-foot-tall gene-tailored SuperSoldiers in PowerArmor and may refuse their aid based on perceived faults in the Guards' genetic purity, Sisters of Battle [[LeeroyJenkins close in on the enemy]] with flamers and organize prayer meetings when not fighting, the Inquisition is liable to arrest, judge, and burn people as heretics... and that's not counting the Guardsmen who seem to think retreat in the face of Chaos, giant monsters, and aliens is a good idea ([[YouHaveFailedMe fortunately they have]] {{Commissar}}s [[BoomHeadshot to deal with that]]).
** According to Inquisitor Vail, most Imperial Guard commissars operate at a regimental level, but the Imperial Navy can a single man enforcing discipline for a {{Mile Long Ship}} (or possibly several of them), who understandably spends his days drinking himself to death in his cabin and leaving the men under him blissfully unaware of his existence. The same problem can occur with the PDF -- one commissar for the entire ''planet'' (The Commissariat uses PDF duty as a ReassignedToAntarctica posting).
** While fandom takes it up to eleven, any Chaos commander leading a force consisting of multiple Chaos Space Marine Legions, warbands, and daemons will run into this problem, because there exists a four-way rivalry between the Chaos gods, where killing another god's champion (or even your own god's champion) is liable to get the killer rewarded by his patron god.

** Space Marines -- Elitist/Generalist. Marines are fairly expensive points-wise and have great staying power compared to most basic infantry. They're also solid in whatever role they're put in: Marines are good shots, and they're not half bad in an assault, either. Space Marine tanks may not be as robust or as powerful as those of the Imperial Guard's, but they are dirt-cheap, reliable and often more mobile and versatile. Whatever an enemy army’s weakness is, Space Marines have something that can exploit it, but nearly every other army does their particular schtick better than Space Marines.
** Astra Militarum -- Spammer, Brute or Generalist (depending on whether they use mostly infantry, mostly vehicles or a combined arms approach, respectively)/Technical. They emphasize regular Joes generally coming in underequipped and in huge numbers alongside an ungodly number of vehicles of all stripes ranging from light walkers to heavy battle tanks, and leadership abilities most other armies can only be jealous of as well as the Orders system to confer various bonuses to units. Imperial Guard is an easy to learn, difficult to master army with a variety of options and tactics which at the same time never overwhelm.
** Adeptus Mechanicus -- Balanced/Unit Specialist. They have some of the most advanced technology of any human faction, and most of their units are specialized for a single role. Despite this, their generalist units are still some of the best in the game.
** Adeptus Custodes -- Elitist/Generalists, like a much more extreme version of the Space Marines, with even their basic troops being immensely powerful.
** Sisters of Battle -- Balanced/Generalist. This army of women warriors is kind of a hordey army with very strong close combat performance, plenty of options for long-range support fire and a unique Miracle mechanic. While they combine the strengths of both the Militarum and the Astartes, they also combine the weaknesses of both (relatively flimsy T3 infantry ''and'' limited numbers, but each sister having an invul save makes up for it a bit) unless you pick a gimmick and run with it. They also have a lack of reliable anti-tank options at range except for the more recently released Castigator Tank, which is still peanuts compared to the armored monstrosities of the Militarum.
** Tau Empire -- Balanced/Ranger. The Tau are the best army for shooting in the entire game, hands down, capable of out-ranging other armies and blasting them to kingdom come with devastating precision firepower long before they can close for melee. Which is good, because the Tau are the ''worst'' army for melee -- even the lowly Imperial Guardsmen can expect to beat them in a slugging match, and the Kroot are quite poor in comparison to dedicated melee in other armies. Tau forces also have a number of options for stealth and rapid deployment, and have decent mobility too, but they completely lack psykers and a counter for them barring a single special item unique to Farsight Enclave armies.
** Asuryani -- Elitist/Specialist/Guerilla/Technical. Eldar are generally [[FragileSpeedster deadly but very fragile]], relying on exceptional mobility and good use of cover to stay alive. The army is comprised of a variety of hyper-specialised infantry with near-universal access to Fleet and high morale, with a few "all-rounder" units to plug tactical gaps. They also have a lot of sneaky units that can infiltrate or outflank an enemy to strike from an unexpected quarter, and they have one of the strongest psychic supports in the game. Their vehicles tend towards LightningBruiser, being skimmers with devastating weapons, but these are very expensive and often left outgunned.
** Drukhari -- Elitist/Ranger/Specialist. These intergalactic raiders are exceedingly fragile, even moreso than their Craftworld brethren, with infantry possessing little staying power and skimmer vehicles vulnerable to even small-arms fire. However the Dark Eldar possess some of the fastest-moving units in the entire game, combined with a deadly arsenal of poison and morale-sapping weapons; excellent at shooting and decent at close combat too. Reliant on a player with a good grasp of what their units can and cannot do and with a daring and aggressive tactical style, they are widely considered to be [[DifficultButAwesome the hardest army in the game to play properly, but very formidable in the right hands]].
** Orks -- Brute/Spammer. Orks are overall one of the most effective close combat armies in the entire game, and also one of the most numerous, able to flood the table with large squads at a mercifully low points cost. Ork shooting is unfortunately abysmally inaccurate, though their sheer numbers can compensate for this. Orks also field a surprisingly large amount of big guns to provide long range fire support for da Boyz, and even have a degree of psyker power, though their unique discipline is primarily offensive in nature. Like the Imperial Guard, the Orks are quite forgiving of mistakes and fun to play, and thus a good first army to learn the game with.
** Necrons -- Elitist/Brute. Their infantry are supremely durable, capable of rising back up after being destroyed, and can pack either specialized anti-infantry weaponry or general purpose weaponry capable of threatening both infantry and vehicles. Necrons have a good selection of powerful elites and HQ choices, with solid special characters. However, their low initiative and small number of attacks can make them suffer in close combat, especially against overwhelming numbers. They have no psykers either, but they do at least have a way to shut down psyker powers. Necrons are quite powerful, but overall they can be tactically predictable.
** Tyranids -- Can vary between a Spammer and an Elitist faction based on whether more, bigger 'nids ("Nidzilla") or hordes of the little bastards come out. Usually uses a mix of both, with the hordes' sheer numbers tearing apart the enemy while the big guys come in at the end to clean up what's left. Tyranids are generally tactically flexible with a lot of possible approaches to building an army, and they have a fairly extensive psychic toolbox to work with too, giving them elements of Technical as well. The Tyranids are let down by somewhat lackluster shooting, complex and often highly situational rules, and [[WeaksauceWeakness a fairly crippling weakness to poison weapons]].
** Heretic Astartes -- Balanced/Specialist. The Marines elements of the army play quite similarly to their Loyalist cousins, with superior close combat ability and psyker support. These superior traitor Marines come with a number of highly customisable and versatile "troubleshooter" units ranging from mobs of cultists to monstrous daemon engines, with some very good options of their own. Their vehicle list is not quite as varied as the loyalist Marines, but the vehicles they do have tend to be more powerful. The CSM do however sacrifice some of the loyalists' more powerful special weapons and rules, morale bonuses, and tactical flexibility -- they cannot infiltrate or deepstrike like the loyalists can.
** Chaos Daemons -- Spammer/Technical. Daemons tie with Tyranids with sheer amount of bodies and Monstrous Creatures they can put on the field. Unless you actively shy away from it, no other army, except maybe the Grey Knights, can rock the Psychic phase as hard as you can. Their units are generally stronger point for point than other units, but their unusual deployment type requires careful thinking when used, and their low Toughness and Daemonic Instability make them die very quickly if not managed carefully.
** Renegades and Heretics -- Spammer/Generalist. Basically a Chaos version of the Imperial Guard, nearly everything is relatively cheap and have great diversity and customisation provided by the abundance of options.

* AIIsACrapshoot: The first true human-created artificial intelligences, the Iron Men, rebelled due to Chaos. This rebellion was a major factor in ending humanity's first great interstellar civilization and played a part in the descent of the human race into a galaxy-wide dark age. The Adeptus Mechanicus outlawed sentient [=AIs=] as a result, and for the most part the Imperium's modern-day "machine spirits" are pretty well-behaved (if you treat them right).

* {{Cyborg}}: While there are "realistic" bionics, senior Mechanicus adepts often approach full-body conversion in their attempts to remove every trace of "weak flesh".
** A more horrifying example are the servitors, catch-all machine-slaves in use for almost every imaginable purpose by the Imperium. After the events of the Dark Age of Technology, when the [[NoodleIncident Iron Men rebelled against their human creators]] and nearly wiped out humanity in the process, true ArtificialIntelligence was forbidden, ruling out the use of robots. Instead, the mechanicum uses "Machine Spirits" for larger vehicles and humans who have been lobotomized and upgraded with cybernetics (the servitors) for less critical tasks.

* DarkerAndEdgier: With respect to the regular ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}}'', which was fairly grim to begin with.

** ''Humans'', by official policy of the Imperium of Man, are not supposed to tolerate the existence of Xenos. This is possibly justified in that 9 times out of 10 any alien in the known universe will kill a human on sight, though [[SelfFulfillingProphecy this is in turn because humanity has a terrible reputation for exterminating any sentient aliens they can]], with some exceptions like actual monsters who very much deserve to be wiped out like the Orks. On the other hand, it's not always strictly adhered to: being an absolute xenophobe eliminates any hope of alliance with the remaining 10%, which is why the policy of "Kill the Alien" gets tossed out when an EnemyMine situation happens.
** The only hard exception to this trope is the Tau Empire. To be fair, they seem to be running a successful society built around a coalition of species. On the other hand, the Tau are running an Orwellian society that makes it clear that they're staying the top ([[UnreliableNarrator depending on who you listen to]]), they ''have'' practiced extermination on species that are incompatible with the Greater Good, and finally they can afford to be so optimistic with other species because they've encountered relatively little in the way of treacherous or particularly offensive species - besides the Orks, who lack the concept of peace (being a rogue species of living weapons), and the Tyranids, who lack any instinct other than hunger.

* AdvancedTech2000: To indicate the [[TheFuture very far future]] setting, as well as distance itself from the original ''{{TabletopGame/Warhammer}} Fantasy Battle'' system, the work refers to being set forty thousand years into the future, making the InUniverse timeline in or near the 42nd millennium.

** The Orks are known as the Greenskins for ovbious reasons. The colour of their skin is because of the fungus they have a symbiotic relationship with.

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* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: The Salamanders Space Marine Chapter all have slate-grey skin, and Magnus the Red, Traitor Primarch of the Thousand Sons legion, has scarlet skin.
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%%I know there're plenty of other instances of this trope in WH40K, but I couldn't bring myself to look for and document all of them. If you know some, then please add them.
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* BodyHorror: The grim darkness of the dark future provides plenty of examples:

** This is often the result of the experiments carried out by the Drukhari Haemonculi, both on their victims and themselves. Of note are their creations known as Grotesques, a hulking mass of grafted limbs pumped full of every drug known in the universe.