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As I am always working on things, with everything being a continuous WIP, I thrive on feedback. Let me know what you think and jump into a conversation. Agree or disagree, like or dislike, if you can form a good argument I want to hear it!

  1. I'm glad you enjoyed your journey through Philhammer. In answer to you question: I imagine Kron is an Artiloid (by…

  2. Hi Phil, I really enjoyed reading through your Philhammer concepts and it's nice to see a fan with as much…

  3. Donald Hawley on Connect

    None of the Dreadnought yet, but I've been 3d modeling with Sketchup and have posted some of my work on…

  4. Ah, life, yeah, that'll do it 😐 I'll check out those CBC podcast. etc. Thanks for the heads up. Do…

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You are more than welcome to contact me privately using the form below. Please allow a week for me to get back to you. If it's not confidential, and want to say hello or leave a comment about this website, please share your thoughts below in the Comments section.


161 Responses

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!

To support my work: Connect

  1. Brian O'Mahony says:

    Subject: 40K Concepts

    Just read your The Dark Age of Technology page, and I must say one thing.

    WOW.

    I've always wondered what happened, but never had an iota of how/what could have. It was just too vague. I am seriously impressed. Even though what you wrote isn't cannon GW stuff, it should be!

    Only thing I'm unsure of is how one of the C'Tan which is "rumoured" to be buried under Mars be there?

      [Philip: The C'Tan isn't on Mars. What is there is an AI, but it's hidden. I may make it a C'Tan later, but at the moment I'm still figuring out how to shoehorn the C'Tan in, so they are 'seamless']
  2. Davij038 says:

    Subject: Congratulations, possibilities, questions etc.

    Firstly great website, though a bit hard to navigate and find certain theories...

    The Space marine chapter legions... [here]

    Are they a spoof, if you will, or are you serious that they could be real successor chapters such as Mortificators, Crimson fists ETC? Or did you make them as some tribute/40K version of some of Earths mythology?

    [Philip: 'Serious', tongue in cheek (as most 40K can be), and fun. Here's a link to the thread on Bolter and Chainsword.]

    Some of them, the Red Maw are good, but others are...rather badly cliched...I'm sorry to say this, as I can see a lot of work and thought has gone into them but well...Look at the Certified! They're like the Churchill marines!

    [Philip: I like them!]

    Anyway, I have an idea, maybe you might be interested in.

    And I'm afraid its linking 40K with Fantasy...

    Olde ones: They are mentioned in both universe, as have chaos. And so Have a fair few number of similar races...)

    Now, what if, the WHF world was a "Testing ground" for the races in 40K?

    [Philip: I quite like the two separate, except when I mix them (like the Fonn!)]

    Cheers!

    Davij

  3. Aaron Brown says:

    Subject: Great Inspiration!

    I really enjoy your take on many things in the 40k universe. It's inspired me to start writing my own concepts down about things in the 40k universe.

    In fact, I nipped your format for organizing chapter information and used it for creating background for some of the other chapters that have no background.

    Thank you and keep up the good and imaginative work! It's hard to find good fan material on line about 40k that isn't over-the-top fan [profanity removed].

    aaron
    [link removed - email sent]

      [Philip: I've been reading through your site (before I removed the link), quite a few chapters you have on the boil!]
  4. Kage2020 says:

    Subject: Comment...

    Quote Philip;

    As for the design, I wanted something a little different to the web pages I see every day, but there are so many pretty pages from so many talented people it's hard to be original. So I went back to basics for inspiration and looked at ye olde typography, and then at manuscripts (which seemed appropriate for 40K). I think of the style as 'modern-manuscript' which I hope will be seen as tying into the 40K feel (it’s a 40K STC e-paper style πŸ˜€ )]

    LOL. Well, it definitely achieves that look, though your paranoia with regards to people pilfering your artwork still astounds me. Maybe you should just get more "open source" on it, with the whole GNU license (or something similar)?

    πŸ˜€

    Regards... Kage

      [Philip: Some is still in flash format, but that's because it uses GW owned material. You'll find that much of *my* art for the site (concept scrawls) is in regular jpeg format. As for 'open source' I putting together a little project that uses the Creative Commons licence, and it is something I am very passionate about!]
  5. masecase says:

    Subject: Space Marine Proportions.

    just wondered, how your Space Marines are able to work their equipment, considering, that they can barely reach their own shoulders*. I think, that you are familiar with the old Warhammer monthly comics and the blood quest series. Do you remember the episode, when Cloten broke free from fabius bile's dungeon and massacred his acolytes? I think those proportions are more suitable for a marine. Muscles on mass, agile, huge, and far more effective than the models displayed on your site. Beside this, I like your ideas.

      [Philip: * They can reach their own shoulders. The shoulders are quite flexible. The armour (chest plate) is a problem around the shoulders (look at mediaeval cuirass), but it usually has a winged symbol which is a distinctive part of the marine image. There are a few changes I would make to the armour - but that's all for another day!]

    Also, I don't think, that the Artilects should evolve into C'tan, but Old Ones. This would solve several continuity problems you would create otherwise. For beginning, as the xenology book clearly indicated, the emperor was an Old One. Secondly, why should the Artilects return to normal space and design such an obvious weakness to the warp ( considering your C'tan version as described in the BL-forum) if they are able , according to myths, wuhu.., to reach void zero? Wouldn't it make sense for the Old Ones, after they got decimated by the C'tan to recreate their race?

    So were does the Void-Dragon fit into this, supposing he is still resting on Mars? Well, the secret cult, sacrificing victims to him, could be indeed be members of the higher echelons of the Cult, who know of the danger lurking under them and try to keep him sedated and without need to rise once again, by feeding him. They are a small sect who kept this secret since the age of strife hidden, lest more headstrong individuals try to destroy it by brute force and wake it in the process.

      [Philip: My ideas on the C'Tan are constantly changing so *anything* is possible. Everything really is still up in the air about the C'Tan. As for 'xenology' remember what BL says about 'canon' and 'truth'? πŸ˜›]
  6. Sam says:

    Subject: Bolter Rounds

    I spent a few years working for a defense subcontractor and I have to say that I reckon you're on the right track with the design for bolter rounds. In principle they should work (if you can pack enough oomph into the kicker!), and in point of fact the current world has something similar, though nowhere near so small! For an example look into rocket assisted projectiles for modern field howitzers, such as the US's M198.

      [Philip: Thanks for the head's up]
  7. Captain Stern says:

    Subject: Primarch Info Page

    Can you give us a possible date for the completion of your Primarch Info Page? Believe me, there are lots of us interested. It doesn't have to be complete, just submit what you have (if anything)!

      [Philip: A lot of people are asking, and I have been *very* busy. As as stop gap measure, an extract from that PM to another fan on the subject;

      +++++++++++
      Primarchs
      Basically - to give a quick idea: Human Alpha Psykers are the first Slann created men (think of Hesiod's Five Ages) the Golden Men are our 'Gods' from antiquity (Greek) and the Emperor is the gestalt entity of all the gods combined (yeah, that powerful!).

      The Primarchs are hosts to those gods separated out from the Emperor's gestalt soul, so they are in fact the old Greek minor 'gods', but much weaker (and lacking proper Alpha class abilities). They are more like the later generation, the beta and lower class Psykers (silver age) and the marines are more like the bronze age.

      The Emperor's main persona is the 'Zeus' alpha psyker, the Thunder God, and is the same persona in many cultures that have a Thunder God (he got about a bit!).

      On the page I hope to include Primarch profile breakdowns, abilities and the 'god' they resemble, their role in the Emperor's great plan and links to the Imperial tarot. I would like to tie it into the Dark Heresy RPG, though the super-stats may be difficult to work out (I may have to resort to my 'house-rules')
      +++++++++

      This is not final, think of it as a rough outline πŸ˜‰

      Update: page added (rough): Primarchs]

  8. Captain Stern says:

    Subject: RE

    Oh... Well, that's a shame because I'm not a big admirer of the new Old Ones background and their prominence in the latest background. I preferred them in their previous 40k incarnation, when they were lizard aliens, and technologically not that much beyond the eldar (as I'm sure you're aware). I look forward to any pictures you may have though - I'm a big fan of your depiction of Magnus.

      [Philip: These are the old Slann for Rogue Trader (old skool) as depicted on page 194 'The ancient Slann and their Inheritance'. The Old Ones in Philverse are more like the super beings in Cthulhu mythos, and are more in keeping concept wise as proto-(chaos) gods (indeed I have some branches of Philverse where the degenerate Old Ones become the chaos gods!).]
  9. Captain Stern says:

    Subject: RE

    I should have mentioned that my main objection to your vision of the primarchs wasn't that their nature and existence was down to the machinations of the Old Ones (though it's a big qualm of mine) but rather that they were A. Inferior/weaker to Alpha Psykers and B. There were creatures (creatures of human orgin anyway) that were comparable to them before. For me, the primarchs were a brave, bold new cast of the die by the Emperor on behalf of humanity, the revolutionary ultimate weapons to effect the take-over of the universe by humanity - following the failure of all the other races to do the same when they had their chances. Case in point: I remember reading about Bjorn in the 2nd ed Space Wolves codex reminiscing about Leman Russ, about how he believed that there was no way such a man could have existed before, about how he couldn't be dead these ten thousand years - He had burned with pride, power and life. Sentiments, yes (though from the mightiest of Space Wolves), but I always got the impression there was a truth to it that Bill King was trying to tell us.

  10. Carlos Pandiella (damonx9) says:

    Subject: Love to see this stuff.

    Hey there Phil, I came here from the Black library ages ago.

    Just though I would sign the book and say that your site just really kicks it harsh.

    (that's a good thing)

    It's one of the reasons I love Warhammer and WH40K. The endless amount of back drop you can put into the world without ever destroying it. Only enriching it.

    You gotta love it.

    Thanks for all the great mind stirring concepts.

      [Philip: Thank you for taking the time to let me know your thoughts on what I am doing here on this site. If you are on the constant look out for background enrichment you my like to pay a trip to the 'Anargo Sector Project'.]
  11. Paul Mulkey says:

    Subject: Marine Chapters

    I love what you did with the marine templates for each chapter and was wondering if you could submit those conversions to bolter and chainswords SM painter.

      [Philip: I sent in the capes, and I am waiting on the templates - it's been a while since I made the offer]

    Another thing was could the standard bolter casing be a enlarged shotgun casing?

      [Philip: Could be, depends how you want to imagine them. I was thinking of grenades when I wrote up my version of bolters πŸ˜‰]
  12. masecase says:

    Subject: Emperor

    Keep in mind when theorising about the emperor, that a lot of the background hints, that he is in fact an Old One, or a an avatar of one, see Xenology for more details. This would also tie with the Machine G(h)od concept of yours and the old, original Relationship of the Omnissiah and the Machinegod.

    I may be biased, but I like the idea of the Emperor being "Jesus Christ".

      [Philip: Jesus Christ as the Emperor? I think Jesus was a man of peace through peaceful means, whereas the Emperor most certainly isn't. The Emperor is warlike. I tend to see the Emperor as being more like the gods Zeus (Greek) or Jupiter (Roman). In the alternate reality of 40K, I imagine the equivalent of Jesus could be taken as being the mortal son of the Emperor, just like Hercules but instead of super strength he has the power of healing. Jesus is depicted in art with a halo much like the Emperor, so there could be a link between the Jesus of the alternate reality of 40K and the Emperor.

      As a side note; I think that if the Emperor is 'Jupiter' and also 'Zeus' the god of thunder, then I think in 'our' era the Emperor currently resides on Jupiter! The great eye (Great Red Spot) of Jupiter is where the Emperor is watching us from right now. A Psyker so powerful he can withstand the crushing gravity, and create a storm so massive that it's more than three Earth diameters across. The Emperor is an Uber Alpha Psyker - totally off the charts.]

  13. masecase says:

    Subject: Jesus

    I didn't mean to say he is in fact Jesus, but that the same concept apples to him. Passed on to the emperor it would be a harmonic blend of old fluff (Rough Trader), not quite as old fluff (Realms of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned, Slaves of Darkness was contradicting anyway and didn't reach the quality of the other in my mind) and new fluff ( Xenology). Although it depends on the sect to which you might belong to or not, a lot of priest and pastors tells us, that Jesus was god's son, because he was filled with his essence or spirit, or something like that...

    Anyway, Using the concepts you made of the Universes, The Emperor might indeed be a conglomeration of the first super psykers, who lived alongside the slaan*, or in your case slann*. But how could, even a thousand alpha-psykers best beings, which are according to rumours corrupted almighty beings from before the start of every existence? Maybe if he became like Buddha and merged his spirit with Old One responsible for the creation of our universe.

    Thus he became the Omnissiah: Almighty, and even more important, all-knowing in matters concerning the workings of our universe. A god in most ways, but still a man, with doubts and fears, but clear in his purpose. Although not necessary true, the bible also describes how Jesus feared his death, even though he believed and loved god.

      [Philip: I see. where you are coming from. As for the Omnissiah I detail some of my thoughts in 'Religion of the Machine Ghod'. You can access it via the RSS feed.

      *Slann is the correct term from Rogue Trader (Most likely derived from the novel Slan by A. E. van Vogt)]

  14. kamin989 says:

    Subject: The Fonn

    Your concepts are interesting but I have a few problems with them. For instance, the Fonn. First you connect 40K and WHFB. Okay, that's not so bad. And then I reach the Layway. If I'm not mistaken, a similar concept exists in the Gotrek and Felix book "Giantslayer". Then you talk about the "barrier". If your "layway" is the same as the Paths of the Old Ones from that book, which they seem to be, (as the concepts are pretty much the same) then you have an error, as the Paths of the Old Ones had nothing to stop Chaos forces from marching through, and even had Daemons in them. Then you start talking about the city of the Fonn, "Centropolis" (which is a rather silly name for the Warhammer World), and I'm getting quite surprised by this. And you spell "leyline" wrong, unless I'm mistaken and you're misspelling it deliberately. I'm surprised by what you say about the Southern gate, as this completely contradicts the established lore, which says that the Southern gate is just like the Northern gate. And where are all the Beastmen in the Southern wastes? Oh, but they (the Southern wastes) don't exist according to your article, or at least not in the form that I know them as.

    And so we get to the "Intergalactic Hierarchy". The bit about the Old Ones isn't that interesting, so I go to the Old Slann. I'm utterly shocked by this. A small fire salamander? Is this supposed to make sense? The most common creature in the universe? It's a bit confusing. Bioforming using Orc DNA? According to the Lizardmen Army Book, the Orcs were pests that showed up at the end of the Age of Creation, and in the Seventh Edition Rulebook, their spores stowed away on the Old Ones' spaceships. So you contradict the lore again. Before that, you mention them being Warp entities, which doesn't make much sense, as I thought the lore said that the Slann were just creatures with souls, not Warp entities possessing a host. And finally we get to the Fonn. Strangely, they give birth in "immaculate conceptions". And the Fonn themselves seem to be a blatant steal off the Amazons of Lustria. Then we go to the Slann. They're insane apparently. This is rather strange, as the Lizardmen Army Book doesn't mention distinct groups of insane Slann and sane Old Slann and just mentions the Slann as servants of the Old Ones who lead the Lizardmen and fight against Chaos. I have to admit that I don't understand how you could contradict the lore so much just in making a new race and a small group of classes.

    Please don't take this as an attack; I'm just trying to point out a few holes in your intriguing concepts.

      [Philip: The Fonn and Amazons are one and the same, two related populations each in a different location.

      As for continuity, this is all a re-image and development concepts for my own personal amusement. It is derivative but not bound by what has gone before. I go with the idea often put forward by the Black Library of an expanded background, and that all the background may be true or false or misleading and nothing it 100% accurate - it is all an interpretation. Perhaps on the revamp of this site I will make this clearer from the get go? πŸ˜‰]

  15. James Tucker, Fort Hood Tx. says:

    Subject: WH40K concepts and Reimagining

    Philip,

    I seriously enjoyed your WH40K Reimagining and concepts!

    I am a big fan of Fluff material, especially when it comes to WH40K. I enjoyed your website immensely, I was enthralled by your "scientific" approach to the WH40K world. I often find myself daydreaming about many of the concepts and theories you have put fourth. I was most impressed with your page about the Space Marines. Although I have never actually played the game...I am an avid WH40K hobbyest, I love painting the models and have just about every model Games Workshop has put out since the Rogue Trader days. I have all the Codexes that have come out over the years and all the "Index Astartes" that have been produced.

    I have found that with all the useless information my brain has amassed over the years about WH40K, I have found that your web page has filled in gaps and explained things I always wanted to understand about the 40K world!!!

    Thanks for your awesome mat'l on the website, it's very refreshing...if you put all the info into a book I would be the first in line to buy it.

    I know, it's sad that I am 40 years old and still painting Space Marines!!! My wife always looks at me funny when I bring a new WH40K set home to paint.

      [Philip: Glad you liked it!]
  16. Ratibor says:

    Subject: Rainbow Warriors and Iron Hands

    I am VERY IMPRESSED upon Rainbow Warriors and Iron Hands. I want to see some chapter's colour scheme mixing features of Rainbow Warriors and Iron Hands...

  17. Xavier Kharne says:

    Subject: BL Message Boards

    Hi Phil!

    I was a long running member of the BL message boards a few months ago under the name QuietWolf. I went offline due to a house move and have only just come back on.

    I noticed that I didn't see you about and when I asked some of the long standing members they said you hadn't been around in a while!

    Just wondering what you'd been up to and whether we'd be seeing you on the boards any time soon!

    I miss you trying to shoe-horn C Blocks into everything!

    Cheers!

      [Philip: Hobby wise; a bit of collecting (figs and rules), setting up 'Warspike' (rule set prototype), getting my .com site up to speed and generally messing about πŸ˜‰]
  18. Frootbat says:

    Subject: Sensei Knights

    One thing that really intrigued me about some of the more obscure bits of old fluff (and in the Inquisition War trilogy books) Was the Sensei Knights, the supposed immortal sons of the Emperor who where for one reason or another psychic blanks to him and he didn't even know they existed. Also that If they where sacrificed they would create a new 'human' chaos god called the Star Child and allow humans to conquer the warp. I was just wondering if this is something you have ever discussed previously (I couldn't find any references anyway) seeing as all your other ponderings on this site are fantastic I'd like to hear what you think on this one of my favourite bits of obscure fluff.

  19. Kage2020 says:

    Subject: Links...

    Hey, Phil. You're link for Anargo is a bit out of date. Try "http://anargo-sector.net/" πŸ˜‰

    • Philip S says:

      It's all out of date! The .net has been retired and serves as an archive while I transfer everything over to the .com - which is the up to date site πŸ˜‰

  20. Kage2020 says:

    Subject: Well bloomin' 'ell...

    ...you learn something new every day. I'll keep on look at the .com site from now on! πŸ˜€

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