It blew my mind how perfect the book chaos warrior/ beastman supplemented by daemons/monsters repectively thing was and that they fucked it up is genuinly embarrising. also pure daemon armies are dull as dirt both thematically and in game.
GW just couldn't decide how Chaos armies, in both fantasy and 40K, were supposed to be represented, which is ridiculous, considering how diverse they were (2nd Edition 40K even allowed 'primitive' Chaos warriors from fantasy to be used; I think it was the "Daemon Worlds" one). 5th Edition Fantasy had Chaos all in one harmony (ironically enough), then they were split into three separate books (so one had to buy the rather thin "Beasts of Chaos" book, which was rather lacking compared to the "Warriors of Chaos" one) but at least they could be used together for 6th and then finally they were split into three partitioned armies for 7th.
Which reminds me; I remember when tourney army lists were really lax with what could be allowed, pre-6th Edition Fantasy/2nd 40K era; monsters such as cockatrices and ice dragons being allowed in armies such as a Skaven one, to a point where cry babies would complain an army list was too "cheesy". I remember an issue of White Dwarf with an article of the most cheesy army lists submitted to them by readers, shortly before 6th Edition was released and thus kill off all the fun and magic the game once provided. Now everything seems so formulaic, whereas previously the game seemed so fun and whimsical.
There was always a weird disconnect with the warriors of chaos as an unstoppable horde in fluff but because they're OP individually so the armies always tiny once you've bought the greater daemon and all the cool shit.
It's also worth noting that the barbarian tribal thing only came about in 6th prior to that they were just a bunch of warbands in the north with zero personality. Personally the over emphasis on chaos at the expence of the other bad guy factions has always been an issue.
When it comes to the technical aspects, I can see why Chaos is ignored: the Imperium characters are the main selling point for GW, not their Chaos or Xenos enemies. It's not like Star Wars where the bad guys get just as much, if not more publicity than the heroes. Outside of the books and maybe the video games, it seems that most Chaos or Xenos characters exist to simply get shot in the trailers and ignored in the tabletop while the whales build more Primaris armies.
I can understand Chaos forces in Fantasy being tribal barbarians or some shit, but why 40K Chaos armies are such a mess is beyond me, when their gods and primarchs should be providing leadership and organization. Even more puzzling is how they're behind the times when it comes to technology. If anything, they should be far ahead, since the Dark Mechanicum doesn't have the constraints on technology that the Imperium of Man or the Adeptus Mechanicus have.
I was expecting to see tech advances up the ass based on the gods they worship. Chaos space owned by followers of Khorne would have top-of-the-line killing machines that can blow through the Imperium's most advanced armor and kill the enemy in the most excruciating of ways. Worlds owned by Slaanesh followers would have advanced stims that cause the user to be enraptured in sexual ecstasy while decimating the enemy, not to mention genetically-engineered creatures that can seduce even battle-hardened Space Marines with a glare. Nurgle followers would have advanced bioweapons tech that can easily allow them to infect even Primaris Marines with a slew of diseases, while Tzeentch followers would have technology similar to the Protoss or the Rakata where they mix psionic power with tech to create miraculous effects, like traveling the warp so fast you can get from point A to B in an hour, even if it's on the other side of the galaxy, or using the energy of the warp to materialize anything from new weapons, power armor, combat automata, or even battlecruisers. Followers of Chaos Undivided could have a mixture of these technologies, or have their own unique take on innovating the sciences, a take that is unbound by the restrictive laws of the Imperium.
But no, the Chaos forces are more primitive than the Imperium despite not having the same technological constraints, because the people who write the lore are about as consistent as teenagers writing fanfiction.
It's female empowerment because it's a matriarchy.
I fucking called it.
>Matriarchal society
>Based of favor of a female deity
>based off of magic power
>males are cannon fodder and breeding stock
>intrigue and politics and betrayal are normal
>highly advanced society
>strong military
>Sacrifice to their gods
>rule of might makes right
>slave holdings
>torture and oppression for fun
>expansionist
>BLACK SKIN
DRIZZT BOOKS ARE RACIST! REEEEEEE!
It's the same thing as when the new Star Wars story group turned the Galactic Empire into a feminist safe haven where even women can become Grand Admirals. Prior to that, the Empire was supposed to be a boys' club where few women can rise to power. Apparently, the people in charge are so offended by sexism, even the bad guys have to be super-feminist.
Oh, well. As they say, never interrupt the enemy when they're making a mistake. If they want to make the bad guys super feminist, that's more of a plus for those who oppose them.
