Canon
Games Workshop ‘Canon’ is often quoted in many a forum argument, and while many game universes do have a strict canonical source that can be quoted as ‘fact’, 40K seems to have a very liberal view of what ‘canon’ is and how the background books, novels and ‘colour text’ should be viewed.
This quote is taken from the Black Library forums FAQ
Is Black Library fiction canon background material?
“The BL editors work with the GW studios to keep the fiction the way that it should (very hard might I add! – RK), though due to the sheer volume of detail involved there can be the odd discrepancy here and there. If you want to consider anything “canonical” then both BL fiction – be it novel, graphic novel, art or background book – and GW fiction – be it White Dwarf, Codex, Army book or rulebook – are such.Keep in mind Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 are worlds where half truths, lies, propaganda, politics, legends and myths exist. The absolute truth which is implied when you talk about “canonical background” will never be known because of this. Everything we know about these worlds is from the viewpoints of people in them which are as a result incomplete and even sometimes incorrect. The truth is mutable, debatable and lost as the victors write the history …”
My take: As I understand it, is that there is no strictly ‘canon’ background and it’s all down to interpretation. In addition the Black Library uses an extended or expanded version of the 40K background and the Wargame uses are restricted background. To really tidy up this concept;
Quote taken from the Old Black Library Forum thread: The question of “canon”?
Marc Gascoigne
“I think the real problem for me, and I speak for no other, is that the topic as a “big question” doesn’t matter. It’s all as true as everything else, and all just as false/half-remembered/sort-of-true. The answer you are seeking is “Yes and no” or perhaps “Sometimes”. And for me, that’s the end of it.Now, ask us some specifics, eg can Black Templars spit acid and we can answer that one, and many others. But again note thet answer may well be “sometimes” or “it varies” or “depends”.
But is it all true? Yes and no. Even though some of it is plainly contradictory? Yes and no. Do we deliberately contradict, retell with differences? Yes we do. Is the newer the stuff the truer it is? Yes and no. In some cases is it true that the older stuff is the truest? Yes and no. Maybe and sometimes. Depends and it varies.
It’s a decaying universe without GPS and galaxy-wide communication, where precious facts are clung to long after they have been changed out of all recognition. Read A Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M Miller, about monks toiling to hold onto facts in the aftermath of a nucelar war; that nails it for me.
Sorry, too much splurge here. Not meant to sound stroppy.
To attempt answer the initial question: What is GW’s definition of canon? Perhaps we don’t have one. Sometimes and maybe. Or perhaps we do and I’m not telling you.”
So that’s an unofficial answer on what ‘canon’ means to the Cruel Overlord of the Black Library, which is very much a part of Games Workshop. There is also this fun thread where I manage to chip in a few thoughts on the subject of canon in: Canon or not (<– now a dead link because BL keep changing their forum and deleting everything!).
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Hearing feedback is very important to me in developing my ideas. Much of my designs are inspired, and crafted, by chatting to fans on forums before snowballing into a full concept you'll find here. I would like to thank all those who have contributed critiques and participated in discussions over the years, and I would especially like to thank all those who commented on this specific topic. If you would like join in you are most welcome!
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My personal take on this is that it is all canon. The difference is, to me, how you array the “facts” of the 40k universe in your own idiosyncratic interpretation. To be holistic – inclusive – of the various editions, taking them as a historical approach works as well as any, even if you still have to pass it through that lens of interpretation.
With that said, I’m afraid that Gascoigne’s image of the 40k universe is one that I personally find incredibly depressing and, for me, “wrong.” Perhaps this is what is “grimdark,” but I hope not. This is the 40k universe that is being re-visioned (even if for quite some time) into a fantasy universe.
Ah well. I shall stick to Kage-verse and the inspiring creations of the fans, while I continue to see the official material – the canon – as less than inspiring, perhaps even insipid. (Strong, I know, but there you go.)
Regards,
Kage
I think the whole aim of the open background is to allow fans to construct their own ‘-verse’ and then share their ideas with others. I think this creates quite a vibrant (if argumentative at times) community, where all ideas are put into the pot and stirred up. 40K is one of the most popular backgrounds in games, and I think much of this owes to the way it is set up. To me it’s all very ‘Doctor Who’ or ‘Sapphire and Steel’, it has a distinctly British flavour, but I admit I can see it moving away from this.
For me Rogue Trader nailed it, I do like a lot of new stuff, I love the artwork and many of the stories, but it is moving away from what drew me to it in the first place. Maybe that’s why I started to write up WarSpike, as I would like to get back to that earlier feeling, but build upon the concept and ideas and really push the whole lot into new territory.
If that were strictly how it worked, and everyone accepted that, then there might be some less nerdrage around. With the release of Dark Heresy it often seems that people are nominating themselves as “keepers of the 40k flame.” Dave Allen did that most notably on the ‘ole Black Library forums, which was a tad bit on the disappointing side since it tended to marginalise those individuals with non-vanilla interpretations of the 40k universe (such as yourself) as being “not 40k.”
Ah well. Maybe it’s just another blip in the Warhammer 40,000 (or perhaps just Games Workshop) hobbyism.
— Kage